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Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on September 1 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to discuss Armenia's bid for European Union membership and its relationship with the Eurasian Economic Union, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
Ushakov briefed reporters ahead of Putin's visit to the Kyrgyz capital, scheduled for August 31 to September 1, where the Russian leader will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and hold a series of bilateral meetings.
Putin will hold separate talks on September 1 with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, according to Ushakov.
His meeting with Erdogan is expected to cover developments related to a resolution of the conflict in Ukraine as well as the situation in the Black Sea, with trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Türkiye also on the agenda, Ushakov said.
A day earlier, on August 31, Putin is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Ushakov said Putin's contacts in Bishkek will open with the meeting with Xi.
On the Armenia talks, Ushakov said Russia maintains its position that Yerevan cannot pursue EU membership while continuing to draw what he described as major benefits from cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union, the Russia-led economic bloc that also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and, since 2015, Armenia.
He said this issue needs to be resolved and "will be on the agenda of the talks between Putin and Pashinyan."
Ushakov said the two leaders will also address the arrest in Armenia of several opposition figures who have advocated closer ties with Russia.
He said Yerevan's stance on the matter has caused serious concern in Moscow, calling it "regrettable" that politicians seen as close to Russia are being held in prison.
Putin will round out his bilateral meetings in Bishkek with talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Ushakov said, noting the Japarov meeting will be the last of the bilateral contacts.
Following the summit, between 20 and 25 documents are expected to be signed, including a Bishkek Declaration, according to Ushakov.
Leaders are also expected to adopt a protocol restructuring the organization, adding a center to counter security threats and a separate center to combat drug trafficking to the SCO's institutional framework.
Ushakov said the observer and dialogue partner statuses will be replaced with a new category called "SCO partner." Russia is due to take over the SCO's rotating chairmanship for the 2027-2028 period, he added.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a Eurasian political, economic and security bloc founded in 2001, whose members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan and several Central Asian states.
Ushakov said Putin will speak to Russian journalists once his summit program in Bishkek concludes. The Russian leader will then travel to Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum, where he is scheduled to deliver a speech at the plenary session on September 3.
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