Ahead of the landmark BRICS/SCO summits in Russia’s Ufa, Putin’s top aide Yury Ushakov speaks to RT, Vesti and RIA on the key topics of the forums’ agendas, including the BRICS New Development Bank, Iran joining SCO, and crises in Greece and Ukraine.
Q:Mr.
Ushakov, it so happened that there will be two crucial events, an
SCO summit and a BRICS summit, taking place at the same place at
the same time. My first question is why are these two events
happening at the same place at the same time. Do you think that
they may possibly distract attention from each other? Or on the
contrary, attract it? Also, could you please say a few words
about the role these two organizations play today – especially
considering the situation in the world today where we often hear
about confrontation between various international
organizations?
A: The upcoming event is really important to our
country. Russia currently presides in both BRICS and the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization. So, it was only natural for us to
suggest it to our partners that we put these two summits
together.
Another reason is that both these organizations have a very
positive and stabilizing effect on the world. They both have
positive agendas.
Also, Russia and China are members of both BRICS and the SCO,
India is a member of BRICS and has observer status at the SCO.
So, the leaders of these three countries were supposed to come
together anyway, and it made sense to put these two events
together and to have them in the same city.
I would also like to mention that we worked hard to prepare for
these two summits, and we turned the city of Ufa into a very good
platform for major international forums which we hope to host
there in the future. So, this will be the inaugural summit for
Ufa, and I really hope that it goes well.
Q: In addition to what you just said about
this event taking some long and strenuous preparation. How do you
expect the summit to affect the region and its development – not
just Ufa but the whole of Bashkiria?
A: Like I said, it is a major chance for
Bashkiria to come into the spotlight internationally, getting new
opportunities for hosting more international events. In fact, one
such event is already scheduled for September: Ufa will host the
Russia-Kazakhstan interregional forum featuring appearances by
the presidents of both nations. It is an obvious advantage for
Ufa, in addition to all the practical improvements that can be
used in the future, such as the newly upgraded airport. Following
its reconstruction, Ufa Airport is now one of Russia’s best
airports, capable of handling any flights. One more fact that is
important for Ufa: seven new, world-class hotels have been built
for the summit, with a total capacity of more than 1,000 rooms.
Of course, Ufa had hotels even before that – I would frequently
go there while the city was preparing for the summit – but they
were all Soviet in style, such as would befit a second-rate
provincial city. And now, Ufa is effectively a city that can host
an international event at any level. That is very important.
Q: Could you tell us, what events are
expected to take part during SCO and BRICS summits, and what key
roles are given to Russia in them? What documents are you
expecting to adopt? What documents will be signed during
bilateral talks as well during summits? What development
prospects do you see for these organizations in general?
You are asking a very multi-level question. Firstly, I’d like to
explain what our motivation was in planning the program for these
summits. We invited heads of member states of the Eurasian
Economic Union, so that the summits program could include
discussions of major issues related to the Eurasian space. Except
for South Africa, all other states are located on this space; so
we’re providing an opportunity to discuss the issues that we’re
concerned about and that should be discussed at this time. These
include future cooperation of this Eurasian enclave with Europe,
and other countries.
The BRICS countries make up 30 percent of the GDP. These five
countries make up 40 percent of the world’s population, and cover
one third of the dry land.
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SCO is also developing. In our view, the main outcome of the SCO
meeting in Ufa is that we’ve started the process of including new
members to this organization. So far it had only six members, and
we had quite lengthy and difficult negotiations on the
participation of India and Pakistan in this format. So one of the
main decisions, which is beyond the SCO forum framework, was to
start the procedure of integrating India and Pakistan into SCO.
Iran had also applied to join SCO. We reviewed it, and we decided
to return to this matter when the Security Council sanctions are
lifted as a result of successful Iranian nuclear talks. Then
we’ll have the opportunity to include Iran in our cooperation as
well.
We made a map that reflects the SCO coverage after the accession
of the new member states, and it looks very convincing, covering
a large homogenous space and bearing a lot of capacity and
potential.
Q: Should sanctions be lifted, when would
Iran be able to join SCO?
A: When sanctions are lifted the process of consultations between
the SCO member states will begin, which will determine a
timeframe for accession. I also want to stress that India and
Pakistan are not joining the SCO overnight either; this process
has just started. In this process they have to get a working
memorandum approved by the SCO secretariat. Then they have to
sign 28 fundamental SCO documents. And only then, hopefully at
the next summit that will take place in India, their membership
will be finalized, and the SCO will consist of eight member
states.
Q: So we’ll have our own Group of
Eight.
A: That’s right. A Group of Eight of sorts,
which will later expand by including Iran.
Q: I wanted to ask you about the promising
areas for economic cooperation within the framework of the BRICS
and the SCO, particularly in light of Russia’s recent foreign
policy shift toward the East, the Asia Pacific, etc. There is a
very promising project underway in China, namely the Silk Road
[Economic Belt]. Russia has a very promising project of its own;
the Eurasian Economic Union. There has been quite a bit
of debate in favor of somehow merging these two projects. Indeed,
this appears to be the most lucrative market. Will the leaders
discuss integration at this summit, or at least convergence?
A: This issue has already been extensively
discussed, in part during the Russian president’s recent meeting
with the Chinese president on the sidelines of the World War Two
victory celebrations in Moscow in May this year. It was then that
the two nations signed a document that opens a discussion of
posssibilities for the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road
initiative. They will certainly cover this in Ufa during an
informal meeting for leaders of BRICS, the SCO and the Eurasian
Economic Union. Not only will this matter be discussed; it might
become the key theme of these talks.
Furthermore, BRICS is now also ready to form its own financial
institutions. The previous BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil made
a decision to do so. Now they will be discussing the functional
details of the BRICS New Development Bank and the contingent
currency reserve pool.
Q: Since we’ve touched upon the notion of
BRICS developing its own financial institutions, there is an
opinion that the BRICS Development Bank and other institutions
would serve to counterbalance other global powerhouses, such as
the IMF. Would you agree with that statement? And what would be
the new benefits that BRICS’ own financial institutions would
have to offer?
A: The New Development Bank and the foreign
currency reserve pool do not constitute an attempt to oppose the
International Monetary Fund or the World Bank. These institutions
are rather new instruments for addressing our shared objectives.
BRICS is developing its common mechanisms that can efficiently
stabilize our economies’ capital markets at the time of a crisis,
and provide additional opportunities for cross-border lending,
and for promoting mutual trade and investment. We see the
creation of these new institutions as our contribution to making
the international financial architecture more stable and
resistant. We do not intend to challenge any of the existing
institutions. Besides, I’d like to point out that the New
Development Bank is open for accession to any nation – though I
do realize it may be too early to discuss that, as the bank has
to set up operations first, and people have to see it perform
before they make any decisions. In fact, we would have a better
idea ourselves of what this bank should do in the future once we
start doing practical things with it.
Q: Mr. Ushakov, there must be a lot of
bilateral meetings planned during the summit; namely, the meeting
with the Iranian president that’s been announced. What’s the
agenda for this meeting? Are they going to discuss such matters
as military cooperation and S-300 missiles supply?
A: I’d say, the program for these two summits is
not just intense; it’s overly intense. Frankly speaking, I don’t
even know how the leaders, including the Russian president, will
handle this amount of work. For instance, in addition to hosting
these two summits, Mr. Putin plans on having 11 bilateral
meetings. He also has planned a trilateral meeting with China and
Mongolia as part of regional cooperation. This will be their
second meeting. Last year, they met for the first time in
Dushanbe. He will also meet bilaterally with all the other
leaders, making it 11 meetings, as I’ve said.
Regarding Iran, this meeting will take place on July 9th and will
definitely factor into the outcome of the Iranian nuclear program
talks. We really hope these talks make headway, and so far things
seem to be going that way. So the outcomes and prospects of
Russia and Iran working together in view of those talks will be
the key topic of the agenda. They will also cover various matters
of bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic, and military
fields.
All these bilateral meetings are going to be rather informal,
with no clearly set agenda, so that leaders can bring up any
issues. So in anticipation of your next question, I expect they
will discuss such matters as Greece, Ukraine, the ISIS threat,
among other topics.
Q: Since you mentioned Ukraine –
indeed, it will definitely be discussed when journalists ask
questions about it. What about the actual negotiations, will they
cover Ukraine specifically?
A: I believe Ukraine, as one of the hottest
topics, will certainly not be ignored by leaders of such major
states. They will obviously discuss the Ukraine crisis in a BRICS
working lunch, or a BRICS closed meeting; I am sure the same goes
for SCO meetings. Moreover, the declarations that are adopted at
the end of the Ufa summit do cover this issue. In particular,
there are three major points, which are of crucial importance
according to Russia; and, importantly, our colleagues from India,
China and other states share these views.
First, these countries don’t believe in a military solution to
the Ukraine crisis. They call for diplomatic negotiations. And
finally, as the documents emphasize, they insist that the
conflicting sides fully comply with all 13 points of the Minsk
Agreement of February 12th. The leaders will thoroughly analyse
the Ukrainian situation based on these three points, which have
already been approved. I believe they will appreciate Mr. Putin’s
input when he shares his views on this situation.
Q: The Greek debt is another burning issue
today, considering the country’s strained economic situation. Do
you think there is a chance that the two summits may end up with
Greece announcing it wants to join the New Development Bank, and
the BRICS nations, in turn, announcing that Greece can count on
new loans to finance some of its projects?
A: Like I said, the situation in Greece will be
discussed at both summits, particularly during informal
conversations. Especially now that the results of the Greek
referendum are in, and there is intensive consultation underway
within the euro zone. The Euro summit launches tomorrow, and the
Greek issue will inevitably be on the table there. There has been
speculation in the media that Greece may apply for accession to
the New Development Bank. We know of these assumptions, but so
far, no one has officially discussed such an option with us.
Besides, like I said, the bank is just launching its operations,
it still has to set out its priorities and start to function. And
it certainly won’t start its operations with Greece; it has its
own tasks and challenges to deal with. So Greece will be
discussed at the summit, but not in the context of its
prospective accession to the New Development Bank, not even in
the long term.
Q: So it’s been mere speculation?
A: (nods).
Q: We are looking at a lot of work to be
done, including a lot of discussion and debate – even through
BRICS and the SCO are sometimes described as clubs for the
like-minded. It’s probably great that our nations are able to
discuss common issues while avoiding contention. We wish you
success in your deliberations.
A: Thank you. We are indeed looking at three
days of hard work and intense deliberations, and I very much hope
that both summits will prove successful.
Q: Thank you.