Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin and China\u2019s Xi Jinping are expected in Central Asia\u2019s Kyrgyzstan Monday for a two-day summit, also attended by Iran\u2019s and India\u2019s leaders, of a regional bloc seeking to be a counter-influence to the West
\n Bishkek
\nAround a dozen heads of states will head to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to mark 25 years of the Shanghai Cooperation Group (SCO).
\nThe group brings together Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, four Central Asian countries and Moscow-allied Belarus.
\nPutin and Xi have previously used SCO summits to promote their vision of a multipolar world and present a united front against the West.
\nIt takes place four-and-a-half years into Moscow\u2019s Ukraine invasion and six months into the war between Washington and Tehran. Iran will be represented by its president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
\nPutin, Xi, Pezeshkian as well as India\u2019s Narendra Modi and Pakistan\u2019s Shehbaz Sharif are due to take part in a plenary session chaired by Kyrgyz leader Sadyr Japarov.
\nPutin is also expected to hold separate bilateral talks with Iran\u2019s Pezeshkian and China\u2019s Xi, among other leaders, Kremlin spokesman Yuri Ushakov said.
\nRussia and Iran — among the most sanctioned states in the world — have massively deepened their military and economic ties during the Ukraine war.
\nUS President Donald Trump has warned Moscow and Beijing against arming Iran.
\nPutin\u2019s meeting with Pezeshkian comes days after the CIA\u2019s director John Ratcliffe made a rare trip to Moscow, with US media speculating he could have discussed Ukraine and Iran with his Russian counterparts.
\nThe SCO has historically focused on economic issues. It gained momentum in recent years under Moscow\u2019s and Beijing\u2019s leadership.
\nOn top of its 10 members, it now has 15 \u201cdialogue partners\u201d, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It also has two observer countries: Afghanistan and Mongolia.
\nThe SCO\u2019s founding declaration says the group is \u201cnot an alliance directed against other states\u201d.
\nBut Putin and Xi have repeatedly made anti-Western speeches during its summits.
\nAt last year\u2019s gathering, Putin accused Western countries of provoking the Ukraine war, while Xi denounced \u201cacts of intimidation\u201d, referring to US-Chinese tensions.<\/p>\n
Real and trade wars
\nThe Bishkek summit takes place as some SCO members are in the midst of real wars — the Ukraine and Iran conflicts — or trade wars, with the imposition of US tariffs on Chinese and Indian goods.
\nThis month, the US slapped secondary sanctions on Iran\u2019s trading partners in the sectors of gold, technology, digital assets, aviation, and maritime transport, aiming to cripple the Iranian regime.
\nWashington also threatened Iran\u2019s allies with sanctions.
\nChina, a major importer of Iranian oil, responded by saying it will \u201cfirmly defend\u201d its interests.
\nIran, living under sanctions since its 1979 revolution ended with Islamic authorities taking charge, has regularly said it will not cave to economic pressure.
\nBut Pezeshkian has acknowledged his country faces \u201ceconomic difficulties\u201d.<\/p>\n
Iran only joined the bloc in 2023.
\nMohammad Hassan Najmi, an international relations expert, told AFP that Tehran \u201cbelieves its membership and active participation in these alliances can enable it to circumvent US and European sanctions\u201d.
\nBut concrete benefits of the group are uncertain, he said, as \u201cin times of crisis, these alliances have rarely allowed Iran to resolve its difficulties\u201d.
\nWhile the bloc claims to represent some 40 percent of the world\u2019s population and 25 percent of global GDP, it remains diverse, with some disagreements among members.
\nRussia and China compete for influence in Central Asia — a resource-rich region crucial for the transport of goods between Europe and Asia — while Beijing at times has had strained relations with India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin and China\u2019s Xi Jinping are expected in Central Asia\u2019s Kyrgyzstan Monday for a two-day summit, also attended by Iran\u2019s and India\u2019s leaders, of a regional bloc seeking to be a counter-influence to the West Bishkek Around a dozen heads of states will head to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to mark 25 years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564628,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-564666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n