"The Russian President has arrived in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to participate in a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," the Kremlin said on the website.
The SCO summit will take place in Astana from July 3-4 under the slogan "Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue - the Pursuit of Sustainable Peace and Development." The summit participants are expected to sign a package of 24 joint documents and adopt a final declaration and a statement confirming the commitment of the SCO participants to principles of good neighborliness and unity.
Putin will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the sidelines of the summit, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on Tuesday. Putin will also hold a separate meeting with acting Iranian President Mohammad Mokhber.