Eurasian leaders convene in Bishkek for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and bilateral talks

Summit diplomacy in Bishkek

Leaders from across Eurasia gathered in Bishkek on Monday for the 25th anniversary summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Kyrgyzstan hosted heads of state including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also travelled to the Kyrgyz capital. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn attended the proceedings alongside dialogue partners including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The ten-member bloc functions as a security and economic grouping representing roughly 43% of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world economy.

Bilateral talks between Xi and Putin

Putin and Xi held their second face-to-face meeting of 2026 on the margins of the summit. The discussions focused on bilateral trade, joint industrial initiatives, space cooperation, and energy transport. Putin proposed establishing a permanent bilateral visa-free regime between Russia and China, noting that tourist travel between the two countries grew by 43% during the first half of the year following initial visa exemptions. The two leaders also reviewed the planned Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline, designed to connect Siberian gas fields to China through Mongolia after earlier negotiations in May failed to conclude a final pact. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov described the talks as constructive and cordial, adding that the war in Ukraine was addressed only in passing rather than in detail. During the meeting, Putin expressed condolences to Xi for victims of recent flooding and landslides in Tibet near the border with Nepal.

Putin addressed their strategic cooperation during the bilateral exchange:

As far as current foreign policy issues are concerned, our fundamental approaches are similar and coincide perfectly.

Peace appeals from New Delhi and Beijing

During separate bilateral exchanges, Asian leaders urged an end to fighting in Ukraine as the conflict reached four and a half years. Modi directly raised the issue with Putin during their first meeting since the Russian leader's visit to New Delhi in December. The Indian prime minister pressed for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

Every day that the conflict continues is a step back for humanity.

Putin answered that Moscow is working toward ending the fighting, telling Modi that Russia is moving in that direction. Addressing the broader international climate during his meeting with Putin, Xi emphasized global desires for stability.

In a context of rapid changes unprecedented in a century, factors of uncertainty and unpredictability are increasing sharply, but the aspiration of the world's people for peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit remains unchanged.

Regional expansion and cultural events

The summit coincided with the opening of the sixth World Nomad Games in Bishkek, a sporting and cultural event founded in 2014 to showcase traditional Central Asian and Turkic nomadic sports. Organizers registered athletes from 104 countries for competitions spanning horseback archery, wrestling, and traditional board games. While most visiting heads of state attended Sunday's opening ceremony, Xi remained absent from the cultural event, with Kyrgyz media citing disaster management for the landslides in Tibet. On the diplomatic agenda, Putin scheduled a bilateral meeting with Pezeshkian to address expanding defense ties and energy trade, as China purchases more than 80% of Iranian crude oil exports.