The guest list in Bishkek
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is marking 25 years with a two-day summit in the Kyrgyz capital. The plenary chaired by Sadyr Japarov seats about 12 heads of state; the gathering brings together Russia and China with India, Pakistan and Iran. Beyond its 10 members, the bloc now counts 15 dialogue partners, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar—states that can attend summits without the voting weight or treaty obligations of full membership.[1]
The timing and the tables
The gathering in Bishkek falls four and a half years into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and six months into the war between Washington and Tehran. For Washington, the deepening military and economic ties between Russia and Iran are a central concern, and Trump has warned Moscow and Beijing against arming Iran. Putin's bilateral with Pezeshkian is scheduled days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe's rare Moscow visit—the first observable test of whether that warning narrows what the summit's sidelines can deliver. Yet middle powers heavily tied to the West are choosing to sit at the same table.[1]
Portfolio management
The presence of Narendra Modi, alongside partners from the Gulf and Ankara, shows how the global majority manages its portfolios. They are not choosing a side in a great-power rivalry or endorsing a Russia-China bloc. By maintaining their ties with the organisation during a period of heavy sanctions and conflict, these states are hedging on purpose. The trade-off is explicit: dialogue-partner status buys summit access and bilateral sidelines without a membership vote inside the bloc, but it also leaves them without veto power when Putin and Xi set the agenda.[1]