Putin and Xi headline summit with anti-Western stance

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were set to participate Thursday in a regional summit in Central Asia bringing together numerous countries opposed to the West.

Putin and Xi regularly meet under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) alliance, whose latest session is being held in Kazakhstan's capital city of Astana.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is also attending, since his country is a "dialogue partner" with the bloc, whose full members including ex-Soviet Central Asian states, India, China, Russia and Iran.

On Wednesday, Putin had bilateral meetings with Erdogan and Xi ahead of the main session, telling the Chinese leader that the Shanghai alliance was strengthening its role as "one of the key pillars of a fair multipolar world order".

Both countries have railed against what they call U.S.-led "hegemony" on the world stage.

Xi, criticised in the West for his growing support for Moscow, told Putin Wednesday he was delighted to see his "old friend" again.

Erdogan also met Putin on the sidelines Wednesday, inviting him to Turkey and calling for a "fair peace that can satisfy both sides" in Ukraine. The Turkish leader has sought to mediate between the warring countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not attending.

Competition with West

The SCO was founded in 2001 but has come to prominence in recent years. Its nine full member countries are China, India, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

It is intended to be a platform for cooperation in competition with the West, with a focus on security and economics.

A year after Western-sanctioned Iran joined as a...