Putin and Xi to meet Monday at SCO summit, Kremlin confirms

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on Monday, the Kremlin announced. The meeting, confirmed by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, where the regional security bloc is gathering for its annual summit. The SCO includes Russia, China, and several Central Asian nations. The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral trade, energy cooperation, and regional security issues. The summit comes amid ongoing Western sanctions on Russia and deepening economic ties between Moscow and Beijing. No further details on the agenda or the exact time of the meeting were provided.