Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi to attend summit in Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and more than a dozen other leaders will gather in Kyrgyzstan on Monday (Aug 31) for a two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional bloc that seeks to be a counterinfluence to the West. The group, which is celebrating its 25-year anniversary, brings together Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, four Central Asian countries and Moscow-allied Belarus. Arriving in Bishkek on Sunday, Xi hailed what he described as a “golden period” in relations with Central Asian Kyrgyzstan, as China deepens its influence in the historically Russia-dominated region. Putin and Xi have…