Leaders of Russia, China, Iran to attend summit in Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping are expected in Central Asia’s Kyrgyzstan on Monday (Aug 31) for a two-day summit, also attended by Iran’s and India’s 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 mark 25 years of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The group brings together Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, four Central Asian countries and Moscow-allied Belarus. Putin and Xi have previously used SCO summits to promote their vision of a multipolar world and present a…