Modi to attend regional summit with Xi and Putin

INDIA’S prime minister Narendra Modi will take part in a regional summit in Uzbekistan that according to Russia will see face-to-face talks between Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping.

The gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

(SCO) comprising China, Russia,

four Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – India and Pakistan is due to take place in Samarkand on September 15 and 16.

A statement by the Indian government last Sunday (11) did not say whether Modi would hold bilateral talks with

Putin, Xi or – for the first time since he became Pakistani prime minister in April – Shehbaz Sharif.

China is Pakistan’s closest economic ally, although relations have strained recently over the scaled-back CPEC project and attacks by separatist militants on Chinese nationals and interests.

Sourcing most of its arms from Russia, India – like China – has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and has ramped up purchases of Russian oil. India’s relations with China have been frosty since fighting in 2020 on their disputed Himalayan border.