New Delhi: Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) got together an online summit hosted by India seeking to expand the influence of the Eurasian group by including Iran and opening path to membership for Belarus. China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin participated in the virtual summit. This is Putin’s first appearance at an international event since he crushed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in late June.
PM Modi said that some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policy and SCO must not hesitate to critise them.
Iran joined as a new member of the organisation and was welcomed by signing the Memorandum of Obligation for SCO membership of Belarus.
The summit takes place nearly two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was hosted by US President Joe Biden for a state visit, and the two countries called themselves among the closest partners in the world.
The eight member SCO is a political and security group that seeks to counter the influence in Eurasia. Formed in 200 by China and Russia, with the former Soviet Central Asian states members, it was later joined by Pakistan and India.