Key facts
- Leaders from China, Russia, Iran, and India are attending the SCO summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
- The summit occurs as the U.S. imposes new secondary sanctions on Iran's trading partners.
- Russia and Iran have strengthened military and economic ties amid global sanctions.
- China has stated it will defend its interests regarding Iranian oil imports.
- Iran views its SCO membership as a means to circumvent Western sanctions.
Leaders of Eurasian countries, including China's Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, and India's Narendra Modi, are converging in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The meeting, marking 25 years of the bloc, takes place amidst fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran, a new member, and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and between Washington and Tehran. Putin and Xi have historically used SCO summits to promote a multipolar world and present a united front against the West. Russia and Iran have significantly deepened their military and economic ties during the Ukraine war, prompting warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump against arming Iran. The U.S. recently imposed secondary sanctions on Iran's trading partners across various sectors, a move China, a major importer of Iranian oil, stated it would firmly defend. Iran, under sanctions since its 1979 revolution, views its SCO membership as a potential avenue to circumvent economic pressure, though experts note the bloc's limited success in resolving its members' crises. The SCO, which includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, four Central Asian nations, and Belarus, also has numerous dialogue partners and observer countries, though internal disagreements, such as competition between Russia and China in Central Asia and strained relations between India and Pakistan, persist.