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The heads of state from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan expressed “grave concern in connection with the recent tensions around the South Ossetian issue,” and urged all parties “to solve existing problems peacefully, through dialogue, and to make efforts facilitating reconciliation and talks.”
The SCO welcomed “the adoption in Moscow on August 12 of six principles of settling the conflict in South Ossetia” brokered by the European Union. The declaration also said it “supported Russia’s active role in contributing to peace and cooperation in the region.”
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev thanked fellow leaders from SCO nations for their “understanding and objective assessment” of his country’s “peacemaking efforts.” He hoped the communiqué would send a “serious signal” to those “trying to justify the bloody adventure of the Georgian leadership.”
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed the United States was responsible for the crisis, linking it to the American presidential election in November.
Medvedev held a series of meetings with his counterparts in Dushanbe ahead of the SCO summit to discuss possible expansion of the group as well gather support from Chinese and Central Asian allies as a counterbalance to the condemnation and possible sanctions from the United States and Europe over Russia’s recent military incursion into Georgia. A European Union summit is scheduled for Sept. 1 to discuss such actions.
In addition to China, Russia and four former Soviet republics, the SCO has granted observer status to India, Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia. Afghan president Hamid Karzai was invited to attend as a special guest. The governments of Iran and Pakistan have publicly expressed a desire to formally join the organization. In 2005 the group rejected an application by the United States for observer status.
An analyst from the Heritage Foundation, Yevgeny Volk, was quoted in the media saying group expansion would “realize Russia’s goal of turning the SCO into an anti-America, anti-NATO counterweight.” Volk said renewed talk of expanding the SCO “comes as a result of Western criticism for its military action in Georgia and for recognizing the breakaway regions” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
However Medvedev’s diplomatic victory was incomplete as the SCO declaration made no reference to Russia’s recognition of the two regions as independent states. The statement also refrained from condemning Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia that prompted Russian military intervention.
The one-on-one meeting Medvedev held with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday produced disappointing results, illustrating one area where there are limits in their strategic bilateral partnership.
A terse statement released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Medvedev briefed Hu on the issue of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as Russia's position. The Chinese president said China has noticed the latest developments in the region, expecting all sides concerned to properly settle the issue through dialogue and coordination.”
The only support offered by the Chinese president came in response to calls led by the United States for a ban on attending the 2014 Winter Games, a repeat of what happened in 1980 when the United States, China and most of Western Europe boycotted the Summer Olympics hosted in Moscow in response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Hu’s discussions with Medvedev reiterated China’s firm support for Russia in hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics in its Black Sea resort of Sochi, and expressed China's willingness to cooperate with Russia on the organization and security of the Games.
There is a twofold explanation for Hu’s tepid response to Russia's actions in Georgia: China has its own problems with fractious regions and follows a foreign policy stressing non-interference on issues it considers matters of national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Zhu Feng, a security expert with Peking University's School of International Studies, told a Western news agency: “China's reaction to this dispute has been very muted because we're also very aware of the secessionism in Xinjiang and Tibet, and the Central Asian countries also have the same worries.”
The Chinese government has this year confronted severe challenges from restive areas such as Tibet and Xinjiang, where ethnic minority populations have staged violent protests seeking independence or greater autonomy. The country also has a sovereignty dispute with the island of Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province.
China’s desire for consistency on foreign policy matters it considers to be internal affairs offers cold comfort to its Russian ally. If the crisis in Georgia escalates, it could bring fissures in their strategic relationship to the surface.
