The confrontation between the United States and Iran has become a serious test for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which China and Russia have been expanding for years as a counterweight to Washington's influence. The leaders of the SCO countries will meet at a summit in Kyrgyzstan amid mounting U.S. pressure on Tehran, Bloomberg reports, UNN writes.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin will meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for the first time since the beginning of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of the Central Asian states, Pakistan, and Belarus will also attend the summit.
Bloomberg notes that the SCO has expanded significantly in recent years, but contradictions among its members still prevent the organisation from turning its geopolitical ambitions into joint mechanisms for action.
The SCO is expected to offer Iran mostly symbolic support
According to the publication, the summit participants are likely to demonstrate political solidarity with Tehran; however, neither China nor Russia has so far shown readiness to provide Iran with military support, while economic assistance has remained limited.
An additional challenge has been the threat of new U.S. sanctions against Iran and the countries supporting it. Analysts believe that the situation could demonstrate the SCO's limited ability to protect even its own member states.
The SCO brings together China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. According to the World Bank, the organisation's countries account for more than 40% of the world's population and about a quarter of global GDP.
Putin, the leaders of China and Iran will gather for a summit in Kyrgyzstan29.08.26, 11:00