Bilateral meetings hogged the limelight at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – the ones that happened and even the ones that didn’t. The presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were watched closely. Especially the bits where Mr. Putin said that he understood Chinese and Indian concerns about the war in Ukraine. 

From India’s standpoint, a non-meeting with the Chinese President indicated that the recent pullback in the disputed border areas between the two countries were not enough to warrant a bilateral engagement at the highest level. With Pakistan, no meeting was expected with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and none happened. 

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