In Kazakhstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed their satisfaction with the state of relations between Beijing and Moscow.
They said they were determined to counter Western influence in international affairs, AFP reported.
Their meeting in Astana, the capital of Central Asia's largest economy, took place on the eve of a regional summit bringing together several countries with strained relations with the West - the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The SCO, made up mostly of states ruled by autocrats, "has established itself as one of the key pillars of a just multipolar world order," Putin said, while Iran, under Western sanctions, joined the organisation last year and Belarus, ostracised by the West for its support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, will become a member on July 4.
The meeting between Xi and Putin comes a month and a half after their summit in China in mid-May, at which the Russian leader sought greater support for his war in Ukraine.
Earlier, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was also in Astana, invited Putin to Turkey for a bilateral meeting. Ankara has offered its services to mediate between Kiev and Moscow since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The SCO, which currently has nine member states (China, India, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan), is seen as a platform for cooperation that rivals Western organizations and will supposedly contribute to the advent of a "multipolar" world, a term that is repeated in the mouths of Russian and Chinese leaders.
"The main thing is to show the world that there are alternative international platforms, other centres of power where the interests of all countries are respected without exception," President Lukashenko said in an interview with Kazakhstan's Kazinform news agency.
The SCO boasts 40% of the world's population and about 30% of global GDP, but besides these powerful symbols, there are many disagreements among its members.
Although Putin and Xi want to present a united front against the West, they remain economic rivals, especially in Central Asia, a region rich in hydrocarbons and crucial for the transport of goods between Europe and Asia, while Beijing sometimes maintains tense relations with India and Pakistan, other members.
Central Asian leaders are regularly courted by Putin, Erdogan and Xi.
This trend has intensified since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moscow wants to maintain its influence over these former Soviet republics, which are now closely linked to China through major economic projects.
Central Asia, led by Kazakhstan, is an important link in China's One Belt, One Road project, a massive infrastructure project launched more than a decade ago by Xi Jinping.
The Chinese president praised the "eternal strategic partnership" between Beijing and Astana, according to a letter published by state media Pravda Kazakhstan.
However, Western countries intend to stay in the game, and several European leaders have recently visited the region. | BGNES
