Russian, Chinese Presidents attend SCO; Putin emphasises group's security

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday attended the summit of a security grouping created by Moscow and Beijing to counter Western alliances.

Putin and Xi joined the leaders of other countries that are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at its annual meeting in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana.

The grouping was established in 2001 by China, Russia and the four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to promote regional security and economic cooperation. It was later joined by India, Pakistan and Iran. Russia's western neighbour and ally, Belarus, joined the SCO on Thursday.

Observer states and dialogue partners include Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Addressing the summit, Putin emphasised the group's focus on ensuring security of its members and said the SCO will form a dedicated centre that will coordinate response to various security challenges. He added that the group's members will