BISHKEK(National Times)- Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin and China\u2019s Xi Jinping are expected in Central Asia\u2019s Kyrgyzstan on Monday for a two-day summit, also attended by Pakistan, Iran and India\u2019s leaders, of a regional bloc seeking to be a counter-influence to the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around a dozen heads of states will head to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to mark 25 years of the Shanghai Cooperation Group (SCO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group brings together Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, four Central Asian countries and Moscow-allied Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PM Shehbaz and Modi to join them at SCO event<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin, Xi, Pezeshkian as well as India\u2019s Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are due to take part in a plenary session chaired by Kyrgyz leader Sadyr Japarov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin is also expected to hold separate bilateral talks with Pezeshkian and Xi, among other leaders, Kremlin spokesman Yuri Ushakov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia and Iran, among the most sanctioned states in the world, have massively deepened their military and economic ties during the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US President Donald Trump has warned Moscow and Beijing against arming Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin\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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The SCO has historically focused on economic issues. It gained momentum in recent years under Moscow\u2019s and Beijing\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The SCO\u2019s founding declaration says the group is \u201cnot an alliance directed against other states\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Real and trade wars<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bishkek summit takes place as some SCO members are in the midst of real wars \u2014 the Ukraine and Iran conflicts \u2014 or trade wars, with the imposition of US tariffs on Chinese and Indian goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohammad 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the bloc claims to represent some 40 per cent of the world\u2019s population and 25pc of global GDP, it remains diverse, with some disagreements among members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BISHKEK(National Times)- Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin and China\u2019s Xi Jinping are expected in Central Asia\u2019s Kyrgyzstan on Monday for a two-day summit, also attended by Pakistan, Iran and India\u2019s leaders, of a regional bloc seeking to be a counter-influence to the West. Around a dozen heads of states will head to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n