By The Moscow Times | Created at 2026-08-31 12:45:19 | Updated at 2026-08-31 13:50:20
1 hour ago
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kyrgyzstan on Monday to attend an annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as well as a series of bilateral meetings with the leaders of China, India and other nations.
A Moscow Times reporter observed a heavy police presence and traffic jams in the capital Bishkek ahead of the Russian president’s arrival.
Putin will first meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline project, followed by a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Those first two meetings, as well as a third with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, are part of the Russian leader’s nine bilateral talks with foreign leaders that will extend through Tuesday.
Later on Monday, Putin will join other heads of state at the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games, a biennial cultural and athletic event featuring traditional Central Asian sports such as horseback archery, falconry and mounted wrestling.
On the sidelines of the SCO summit, Putin will meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for the first time since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in February 2026.
Putin will also discuss Black Sea security and the war in Ukraine with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In addition, he will meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss Yerevan’s growing pivot toward the EU and the arrests of Armenia’s pro-Russian opposition figures.
Putin traveled to Bishkek with a “compact” seven-member delegation that includes Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, presidential aides Maxim Oreshkin and Yury Ushakov, as well as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, SCO coordinator Bakhtiyor Khakimov and Russian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Sergei Vakulov.
The 10-member SCO bloc was founded in 2001 by Russia and China to counter Western influence across Eurasia. Its other members include India, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus and four Central Asian republics.
Following the SCO’s final session and press conference in Bishkek, Putin is scheduled to fly directly to Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum.
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