Putin aide says Russian president to visit Kyrgyzstan for SCO summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin will conduct a visit to Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek to attend the latest summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), his aide Yury Ushakov said on Friday.

Ushakov told reporters that Putin will be accompanied by a delegation including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin. The two-day event will begin on Monday.

He said the summit will discuss further strengthening the organization and maintaining cooperation in a number of areas, among other topics, adding that Putin is scheduled to hold nine bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event.

Among the leaders listed by the Kremlin aide include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"The SCO meeting will decide on the next chair, with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan taking over immediately after this summit. Incidentally, Russia is next in line to assume the presidency in 2027-2028," Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA.

He said that around 20 to 25 documents are being prepared to be signed at the summit, including a post-summit declaration, while a meeting in the "SCO Plus" format will also be held in Bishkek.

Ushakov added that Putin will later travel to the city of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East on Tuesday evening to participate in the 11th Eastern Economic Forum, and address its plenary session on Wednesday.

The Russian president will meet Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on the sidelines of the forum, the adviser added.