The leaders of Russia, China and India have gathered in Bishkek for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit
Published 31 Aug, 2026 10:47
| Updated 31 Aug, 2026 20:02
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they pose for photos before a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. © Sputnik / Petr Kovalev
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyrgyzstan on Monday.
The three national leaders will later attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian group of nations seeking to improve security and economic ties.
Originally a five-member regional group that included China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan which signed its first agreement in Shanghai, the SCO has since expanded to become the biggest regional organizations for cooperation. It includes ten permanent members, 15 dialogue partners and two observer states.
The group has a range of political, security and economic goals and has been called by its members a key mechanism in transition to a new multipolar world system, replacing the period of US unipolarity that followed the Cold War.
The SCO states say Western nations are engaging in increasingly hostile and disruptive activity as their global dominance slips away, and having a forum where other nations can agree on joint responses to new challenges becomes more important.
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31 August 2026
18:03 GMT
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According to the Tehran Times, de-dollarization is among the issues expected to be discussed at the SCO summit in Bishkek, with Iran pushing to reduce Western sanctions pressure and expand regional trade.
The Islamic Republic has reportedly proposed a Shanghai Development Bank based on member states’ national currencies rather than the US dollar. Iranian lawmaker Hassan Qashqavi told the paper that dollar dominance remains a source of economic pressure on Tehran, but the country still has options.
- 17:30 GMT
Putin has also met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Bishkek, according to a RIA Novosti correspondent.
Talks are reportedly taking place at the Ala-Archa state residence, where the Russian leader is holding a series of meetings after arriving in Kyrgyzstan on Monday.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. © Sputnik / Vyacheslav Prokofyev
- 17:14 GMT
Putin has met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games in Bishkek.
The brief talks took place at Bishkek Arena, where both leaders attended the event as honorary guests.
- 16:43 GMT
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek, with the two leaders discussing mounting regional tensions.
Sharif’s office said the two sides stressed the need to build on the understandings reached under the Islamabad-brokered ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. The talks came after US and Iranian forces exchanged strikes on Sunday night for the first time since late July, amid renewed US economic pressure on Tehran.
Meeting between the Prime Minister and the President of Iran on the sidelines of SCO CHS Meeting in Bishkek.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with the President of Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian today, on the sidelines of SCO Council of… pic.twitter.com/liQazEaA1R
— Prime Minister's Office (@PakPMO) August 31, 2026
- 16:19 GMT
Rosatom considers cooperation within the SCO a top priority, CEO Aleksey Likhachev has told RT on the sidelines of the summit in Bishkek, outlining the Russian nuclear giant’s long-term plans within the group.
Likhachev also said the next power unit at a Rosatom-built nuclear plant in China has entered the physical startup stage. Meanwhile, the company continues to work with African partners on personnel training, infrastructure development, and nuclear legislation.
- 16:18 GMT
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has thanked Putin for expressing readiness to host the 7th World Nomad Games in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan next year.
Japarov said Bishkek was ready to provide support for the event “at the highest level.”
- 15:34 GMT
More than 140 Russian athletes have taken part in the parade at the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games in Bishkek.
Putin greeted the Russian team as they marched into Bishkek Arena.
- 15:21 GMT
#WATCH | Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets the Indian delegation participating in the VI World Nomad Games during the opening ceremony at Bishkek Arena
India’s total delegation for this year’s edition comprises 87 participants, including 73 from sports, 10… pic.twitter.com/CP8BmLn8Cs
— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2026
The opening ceremony of the 6th World Nomad Games has kicked off at Bishkek Arena, Central Asia’s largest stadium, which is nearly at capacity for the event. Competitors from more than 100 countries are set to take part in traditional nomadic sports, including horseback riding, wrestling, archery, and falconry.
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled in the same car as they headed to the opening ceremony of the VI World Nomad Games at Bishkek Arena, following their bilateral meeting. pic.twitter.com/N1idp7i2Nu
— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2026
Putin and Modi arrived at the stadium together in an Aurus limousine, according to a RIA Novosti correspondent. Spectators began gathering four to five hours before the ceremony, with local singers and dancers entertaining the crowds ahead of the main show.
- 15:19 GMT
Putin told Modi that Moscow is making every effort to bring the ongoing hostilities in the Ukraine conflict to an end.
READ MORE:
Modi advocates for Ukraine peace in meeting with PutinThe Russian president was responding to Modi’s call for a peaceful settlement. The Indian prime minister said New Delhi supports all efforts toward achieving peace, describing it as “essential for all humanity.”
- 15:00 GMT
The number of Indian students coming to Russia has increased sevenfold in recent years, Putin has said.
It ranks among the top countries from which people travel to study in Russia, he added.
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31 August 2026
08:06 GMT
Putin is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Xi and Modi on Monday. He will also have a one-on-one with Kazakhstan President Kasym-Zhomart Tokaev later in the day.
Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov described the meeting with Xi as “very important,” while calling the Modi contact a prelude to the Russian president’s state visit to New Delhi scheduled for September.
- 08:06 GMT
SCO events on Tuesday will include a meeting of leaders, an expanded SCO+ meeting that includes partners and observers, as well as a number of bilateral meetings. The group intends to approve about two dozen documents, including an addendum to the organization’s charter, which was signed in 2002 in St. Petersburg.
- 08:06 GMT
On Monday, Putin will also attend the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games, a championship for historic sports, in which Russia will be represented by 230 athletes from the parts of the country with strong nomadic cultural traditions. Participants of the games will be competing in horseback riding, wrestling, archery, falconry and other events.
A Kyrgyz participant training for the 6th World Nomad Games, August 23, 2026. © Mikhail Voskresensky / Sputnik
- 10:12 GMT
Xi, who hosted the previous SCO summit in August-September 2025, is the first foreign leader on Putin’s public itinerary.
The in-person meeting is the second for the two leaders this year, though the specifics of their agenda have not been revealed to the public.
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing, China, May 20, 2026. © Kristina Solovyova / Spunik
There is speculation in the Russian press about a possible breakthrough in negotiations on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline megaproject. The proposed route would link Russian natural gas fields in Western Siberia with Mongolian and Chinese consumers. Moscow and Beijing reportedly have yet to agree upon terms for volumes of supplied fuel and pricing.
- 10:13 GMT
Russia and China consider each other strategic partners and describe their current relations as the closest in the history of the two nations.
The ties became increasingly important after the US declared both its strategic rivals whose power needed to be undercut to maintain Washington’s global positions.
In recent years the Russo-Chinese bilateral trade has largely shifted into domestic currencies, which protects it from the threat of Western sanctions.
- 11:09 GMT
Putin’s plane has touched down in Bishkek, footage from the Manas International Airport shows.
- 11:13 GMT
Women in traditional clothes and an honor guard are welcoming the Russian delegation.
- 11:20 GMT
Some members of the welcome party are dressed as characters from the Kyrgyz epic Manas. The capital’s airport was named the protagonist, the eponymous folk hero.
- 11:20 GMT
Putin comes out of the aircraft.
Adylbek Kasymaliev, the chairman of the Kyrgyz cabinet of ministers, was waiting to greet the Russian leader at the bottom of the stairs.
- 11:25 GMT
The Russian leader is using an Aurus limo as his ground transport in Bishkek.
The creation of the domestic state car brand a few years ago was hailed as a major industrial achievement in Moscow.
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