THE leaders of China and Russia are set to meet at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit (SCO) which began in Kyrgyzstan city of Bishkek today.

China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and more than a dozen other leaders are to gather for the meeting which marks 25 years since the founding of the SCO.

The SCO’s founding declaration says the group is “not an alliance directed against other states.” 

But, at last year’s gathering, President Putin accused Western countries of provoking the Ukraine war, while President Xi denounced “acts of intimidation,” referring to the United States.

Also expected to be in attendance are Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a member of the SCO since 2023, and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, even though Turkey is not a member of the SCO.

President Pezeshkian is expected to hold bilateral talks with Mr Putin at this year’s SCO in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. The foreign ministers of both countries met in July during the SCO’s Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.

The 10 member states of the SCO, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus will be joined by another 15 states connected as “dialogue partners,” including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Ahead of the summit, President Xi said: “No matter how the international situation changes, China-Russia relations will remain unyielding and full of vitality.” 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also set to attend the summit and to hold bilateral talks with President Putin on the sidelines of the gathering, India’s Foreign Ministry confirmed.

Foreign Ministry official Sibi George said: “Both sides are expected to review the entire gamut of [the] bilateral relationship during the meeting between the leaders.”

The SCO represents around 40 per cent of the world’s population and 25 per cent of global gross domestic product.