Defence Minister <keyword id="6355121" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajnath-Singh">Rajnath Singh</keyword> on Wednesday arrived here on a three-day visit to Russia to attend a crucial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu on further boosting bilateral defence cooperation. The defence ministers of all eight SCO member nations are expected to deliberate on regional security challenges like terrorism and extremism and ways to deal with them collectively here on Friday, officials said. "Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh reached Moscow on a three day visit to Russia. He was received by Major General Bukhteev Yury Nikolaevich at the airport," the Indian embassy tweeted. The meeting is taking place under the shadow of a fierce border row between India and China, both members of the influential bloc. "Reached Moscow this evening. Looking forward to my bilateral meeting with the Russian Counterpart General Sergey Shoygu tomorrow," Defence Minister Singh tweeted. The SCO comprises eight member states -- India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe and Pakistan's Pervez Khattak are expected to attend the SCO meeting. Asked about the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Singh and Wei on the sidelines of the SCO event, officials said there is no such plan. Before departure, Singh in a tweet said that issues of mutual interest will figure in his talks with Shoigu. "India and Russia are privileged Strategic Partners. Looking forward to further this partnership during my visit," he said. In his meeting with Shoigu, Singh will press for expediting supply of a number of weapons systems, ammunition and spares to India by Russia under contracts which were concluded earlier, officials said. In the talks, both sides are expected to officially finalise a long-pending proposal to produce AK 203 rifles in India. The officials said Singh is also likely to request the Russian side to ensure the timely delivery of the S-400 missile defence systems to India. The delivery of the first batch of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India is scheduled by the end of 2021. It is Singh's second visit to Moscow since June. He had represented India at the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on June 24 that commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations which accounts for almost 44 per cent of the world population stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Indian Ocean and from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea. The aim of the SCO is to maintain peace, stability and security of the region. India became a member of the SCO in 2017. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/rise-in-work-from-anywhere-will-lead-to-more-outsourcing-thats-an-opportunity-for-tcs-infosys-and-hcl-tech/articleshow/77864248.cms">TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech have the most to gain from post COVID wave of outsourcing</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/india-bans-pubg-wechat-and-118-other-mobile-applications/articleshow/77890776.cms">India bans PUBG, Ludo World, and 116 other Chinese mobile applications</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-modi-twitter-account-hacked-heres-what-the-hacker-had-tweeted/articleshow/77902203.cms">Twitter account of PM Modi’s personal website hacked— Here’s what the hacker had tweeted</a>

Rajnath Singh reaches Russia for SCO meet under shadow of India-China border row

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57a48a55db5ce949188b4db8-2400/rtr3b64a.jpg" alt="putin erdogan" data-mce-source="Murad Sezer/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference in Istanbul December 3, 2012." />Murad Sezer/ReutersRussia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference in Istanbul December 3, 2012.</div></div></div>Turkey is looking into joining a Chinese- and Russian-led alliance known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan <a href="http://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2016/11/20/tired-of-eus-delaying-tactics-erdogan-points-to-shanghai-pact">told reporters Sunday</a> at the end of his official tour of Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Erdogan said that he met with SCO leaders over the weekend and expressed his interest in joining the Eurasian political, economic, and military alliance as an alternative to joining the European Union, which has not been receptive to Turkey's repeated bids for membership that began in 1963.France, Germany, and Belgium - home to Brussels, where the EU is headquartered - <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/22/vote-leave-turkey-warning-ignorance-european-realities">have long opposed</a> Turkey's accession into the EU. Erdogan's reluctance to sign on to certain membership requirements, and his increasingly authoritarian leadership over Turkey, has also sparked concern among European leaders that he is not committed to a Western conception of human rights and civil liberties. Thousands of Turkish civil servants - as well as military personnel, police officers, academics and teachers - have been purged or arrested on suspicion that they were associated with a failed coup attempt against Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in July. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57c2434b09d29323008b4d95-754" alt="Turkey" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz" data-mce-caption="One of the 11 fugitive commandos who attempted the coup in Turkey is arrested." />REUTERS/Kenan GurbuzOne of the 11 fugitive commandos who attempted the coup in Turkey is arrested.</div></div></div>Dozens of journalists, primarily working for opposition newspapers, have also been arrested since the attempted coup, while several opposition outlets have been shut down altogether.Erdogan insisted in a recent interview with "60 Minutes" that "these measures are being taken by prosecutors and judges in full accordance with the rule of law." But the crackdown has led the European Commission <a href="http://www.politico.eu/article/europe-warns-turkeys-democracy-is-backsliding/">to warn Turkey that it is "backsliding"</a> in human rights and democracy - an accusation at which Erdogan appeared to scoff."From time to time, we see insults directed at myself, claims that there was no freedom of expression in Turkey," Erdogan <a href="http://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2016/11/20/tired-of-eus-delaying-tactics-erdogan-points-to-shanghai-pact">said</a> Sunday."Meanwhile, terrorists prance around in French, German and Belgian streets. This is what they understand of freedom."<h2>A rejection, or a bluff?</h2>Increasing disenchantment with the EU and the perception that he is being lectured to by the US - which supports anti-ISIS Syrian Kurds viewed by Turkey as terrorists - has apparently spurred Erdogan to look east, where his domestic policies have not been heavily scrutinized or condemned."Erdogan feels much more comfortable and at home among the authoritarian regimes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization rather than facing the scrutiny and criticism of the European family of nations," Aykan Erdemir, an expert on Turkey and senior fellow at the Foundation for <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> of Democracies, told Business Insider on Monday. Joining or even threatening to join the Shangai bloc, moreover - which is heavily influenced by Russia and China - would rattle the West and, as Erdogan said on Sunday, "considerably broaden Turkey's room to maneuver."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5693aa18c08a80872f8b787d-2400/rtx1m9ak.jpg" alt="China Turkey" data-mce-source="Reuters/POOL New" data-mce-caption="Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as they attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ5M578U2&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1239&amp;RH=850#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ5M578U2&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1239&amp;RH=850&amp;PN=2&amp;POPUPPN=93&amp;POPUPIID=2C0BF1O7XF9MR" /><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ5M578U2&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1239&amp;RH=850#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ5M578U2&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1239&amp;RH=850&amp;PN=2&amp;POPUPPN=93&amp;POPUPIID=2C0BF1O7XF9MR">Reuters/POOL New</a>Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as they attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China.</div></div></div>"If Turkey were to actually join the SCO, it would of course drastically alter relations with the US and NATO," Middle East analyst Michael Koplow, policy director of the Israel Policy Forum, told Business Insider on Monday."It would be viewed as a rejection of the Western alliance, and make it incredibly difficult to include Turkey in any type of high-level strategic dialogue, given concerns about Russian expansionism," he added, saying Turkey, unlike other NATO members, is already a partner country to SCO dialogue.Still, many analysts are skeptical that Erdogan is prepared to put his money where his mouth is. He <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-turkey-rapprochement-2016-10">has been flirting </a>heavily and publicly with Russia since the summer, but it is unclear whether a closer alliance with Russia and China would benefit Turkey politically or economically. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5654a2de8430765e008b51a4-2400/rtr3b65q.jpg" alt="putin erdogan" data-mce-source="Osman Orsal/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Russia's President Vladimir Putin (front L) and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (front R), with Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia (L) and Ahmet Davutoglu (C) of Turkey in the background" />Osman Orsal/ReutersRussia's President Vladimir Putin (front L) and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (front R), with Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia (L) and Ahmet Davutoglu (C) of Turkey in the background. Davutoglu has since been replaced by Binali Yıldırım.</div></div></div>"Erdogan's weathervane foreign policy characterized by frequent U-turns is not based neither on values nor principles," said Erdemir, a former member of Turkish parliament. He noted that Erdogan made the same announcement about possible SCO membership during a November 2013 meeting with Putin, yet never acted on it.Michael Kofman, an expert on Russian and Eurasian affairs and fellow at the Wilson Center, said that the SCO is "not a cohesive economic or political block" and would offer little to Turkey in practice other than to "instill the perception that the West is somehow 'losing Turkey' and should chase Erdogan to get it back."<h2>'A rogue and dysfunctional' ally</h2>Complicating the Western temptation to write off Erdogan's comments as empty threats, however, is Turkey's recent deal with the EU to help stem the flow of refugees trying to enter Europe from Syria. "Erdogan knows that the EU views Turkey as critical to staunching the flow of refugees into Europe," said Koplow of the Israel Policy Forum. "He has a long history of making these types of threats in order to pressure Europe into concessions of various sorts. It's a gambit that will probably be successful if recent history is any guide."Over the summer, the EU agreed to pay Turkey €3 billion - and German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to speed up Turkey's EU bid - if Turkey pledged to harbor the vast amount of refugees and migrants seeking asylum in Europe.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/566c3c565afbd37c0b8b4567-800/us-allies-launch-17-strikes-against-islamic-state-in-iraq-and-syria-us-military.jpg" alt="A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing lands at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, November 12, 2015. Six F-15Es are deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and counter-ISIL missions in Iraq and Syria. Picture taken November 12, 2015. REUTERS/USAF/Airman 1st Class Cory W. Bush/Handout via Reuters " data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing lands at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Turkey gave the US permission to use Incirlik as a base for anti-ISIS operations in July 2015." />ReutersA US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing lands at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Turkey gave the US permission to use Incirlik as a base for anti-ISIS operations in July 2015.</div></div></div>Turkey's entry into the SCO would also complicate its relationship with NATO. "In theory, SCO membership would not require Turkey's exit from NATO," geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer, president of the political risk firm Eurasia Group, told Business Insider on Tuesday. "In practice, however, it would severely strain Ankara's ties with other NATO members."Ultimately, however, Bremmer believes Erdogan is just looking for leverage."Erdogan wants the US to rely less on the Syrian Kurds, and to extradite Gulen, rather than a signal of a historic and strategic shift away from the West," he said, noting that many existing SCO members don't necessarily even want Turkey to join."Erdogan himself said yesterday relations with the US and NATO are on track, so I think there's lots of smoke, no fire here," he added.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57fe17b95124c91f187470ea-800" alt="Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan arrives for the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 9, 2016. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Turkey's President Erdogan arrives for the NATO Summit in Warsaw" />Thomson ReutersTurkey's President Erdogan arrives for the NATO Summit in Warsaw</div></div></div>Indeed, Erdogan told CBS over the weekend that Turkey is "moving in the same direction with NATO that we have always done." But July's failed coup appears to only have made him more determined to stomp out dissent, whether it's coming from his own citizens or from the international community.The FDD's Erdemir, meanwhile, predicted that Turkey's "gradual drift from NATO" will continue."Putin will make sure that this is a slow and painful process for Turkey and the transatlantic alliance," he said. "He knows that as a rogue and dysfunctional NATO ally, Turkey is of greater use to Moscow than as a defector to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-hell-week-training-2016-11">Forget 'Hell Week' - a Navy SEAL reveals the hardest part of training</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="h0Z29hMzE6L-FUbTLLal5qmV-po1eCpa" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'h0Z29hMzE6L-FUbTLLal5qmV-po1eCpa',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

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Rajnath Singh reaches Russia for SCO meet under shadow of India-China border row

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