India’s leader Modi cozies up to Putin and Xi Jinping at Shanghai summit



Elephants and dragons and bears — oh my!

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi cozied up to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader-for-life Xi Jinping at a meeting in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The Xi-some took place at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO), which the Chinese said is aimed at challenging the West’s global influence.

All three leaders have found themselves spurned by President Trump — with India slammed with 50% tariffs last week as punishment for the country’s refusal to stop buying Russian oil.

Xi welcomed Modi with open arms at the meeting, as the leaders of the world’s two most populous nations appeared to put aside their regional rivalry for the moment.

“It is the right choice for both sides to be friends who have good neighborly and amicable ties, partners who enable each other’s success, and to have the dragon and the elephant dance together,” Xi said — a reference to the national symbols of both nations.

Add to the mix the Russian bear — and the three leaders expressed the need for economic unity while also discussing the future of the Ukraine war.

Putin and Modi appeared to be especially united in their efforts to woo Xi, with the two pictured riding inside the Russian president’s limo, holding hands, and repeatedly hugging throughout the day.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, from left, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping stood as a united front at Monday’s SCO summit. @narendramodi/X
The SCO brought together all 10 members of the bloc, along with the 16 dialogue and observer countries aimed at countering Western influence. via REUTERS

“Conversations with him are always insightful,” Modi wrote on X alongside a picture with Putin.

Putin returned the kind words, calling Modi a “dear friend” and boasting about Russia’s relationship with the world’s largest democracy at a time when most countries have shunned him for invading Ukraine.

One heavy weight leader is still yet to arrive — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is taking a slow train to host city Tianjin for the summit. His presence — along with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian — will complete the so-called “Axis of Upheaval” at the meeting.

Xi, who is leading the conference, stood beside Putin and Modi in criticizing the heavy sanctions levied against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine and the punishing tariffs faced by India.

He specifically called the sanctions against Russia a clear sign of “bullying behavior” from the West, calling on his Shanghai block to unite.

Putin and Modi were seen traveling together at the summit, with the two world leaders spotted holding hands. AP
Modi was also traveling with Putin inside his presidential limo as they touted Indian-Russian relations. X account of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)/AFP via Getty Images

“We must uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and support the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core,” the Chinese president said.

Xi aimed part of his comments on united economic prosperity at Modi, seeking to cool their once-hostile relationship — including a dispute over a remote region of the Himalayas that saw Chinese and Indian troops beating each other to death.

China is also a longtime ally of India’s nuclear-armed rival Pakistan.

India and China have started to restructure their relationship after Trump lashed out at India, with Modi now describing himself as a “partner” to China.

Putin and Xi celebrated their partnership during the Shanghai Cooperation Summit. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Putin claimed that the West was to blame for the destruction and war in Ukraine, which began in 2022 when Russia launched the full-scale invasion. Getty Images

Xi, who has been accused of propping up Russia’s war machine, also urged the members of the SCO to boost trade and investment deals among each other, with China promising to provide $280 million in foreign aid to member states this year.

The bloc, which originally began with six nations, has expanded to 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue and observer countries in recent years, forming what Beijing has dubbed the “Global South,” a group of developing countries in the southern hemisphere.

Xi, Modi and Putin were seen chatting away during the conference, which included talks between the three on the war in Ukraine.

Emergency responders carry a body away from a burning building in Kyiv following a Russian airstrike. Getty Images

Putin touted Xi’s leadership during the conference and thanked both the Chinese and Indian leaders for efforts in “facilitating the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.”

Putin then reiterated claims that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was not the inciting factor of the war, which has grown to become the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Instead, Putin insisted that the conflict was “a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West.”

“The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO,” the Russian president added.

Xi has said the West is simply “bullying” Russia through the use of heavy sanctions against Russia’s economy, which is on the brink of recession. POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine ramped up in 2014 following the Revolution of Dignity, which saw the ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych over years of alleged, deep-rooted corruption in Kyiv.

Russia would go on to invade Ukraine and illegally annex Crimea, one of the regions still under contention in the heated peace-talks.

Along with blaming the West, Putin claimed he had reached certain “understandings” with President Trump during their summit in Alaska last month.

Putin did not elaborate on what those understandings were, only that he hoped it would “open the way to peace in Ukraine.”

During the Alaska summit, Putin laid out his demands for ending the war, which included no real concessions from Russia and for Ukraine to give up land that Moscow has yet to completely take over.

Ukraine slammed the talks and Russia’s subsequent delays as proof that Putin is not negotiating in good faith and only seeking to prolong the war and capture as much territory as possible.

With Post wires

Credit to Nypost AND Peoples

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