Xi, Putin to meet in Bishkek for Power of Siberia 2 pipeline talks: Kremlin

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss the Power of Siberia 2 project in a meeting in Bishkek on Monday, according to the Kremlin.
The meeting in Kyrgyzstan’s capital will be their second face-to-face talks this year, following Putin’s trip to Beijing shortly after a visit there by US President Donald Trump.
“The issue will be discussed bilaterally,” Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov was quoted as saying on Friday by Russian news agency Interfax.
“It will be discussed not only at the level of the [September 1-4] Eastern Economic Forum [in Vladivostok], but also in the meeting with the Chinese leader, which will take place on August 31.”
Ushakov was responding to a question on whether the two sides were going to finalise the agreement over the long-stalled pipeline, a flagship project designed to boost Russian gas deliveries to China and further consolidate ties between the two neighbours.
The Chinese foreign ministry said earlier this week that Xi would pay a state visit to Kyrgyzstan starting from Sunday and attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit there.
Xi and Putin will join their Central Asian counterparts as well as the leaders of India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus in Bishkek for the August 31-September 1 summit of the SCO, a Eurasian security bloc marking its 25th anniversary.
Founded in Shanghai by six member states to counter terrorism, extremism and separatist movements in the region, the SCO has since expanded to promote economic cooperation and logistical connectivity.
It has also emerged as a significant counterweight to the Western-led international order.
This year’s summit comes as two SCO member states remain locked in conflicts without an end in sight.
As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on, Iran – an SCO member since 2023 – remains embroiled in a direct conflict with the United States following a sharp rise in regional tensions.

The crisis is further threatening global energy stability following Tehran’s decision to restrict passage through the Strait of Hormuz – a critical chokepoint that handles roughly a quarter of the global seaborne oil trade.
Iran has vowed to stand firm after the US announced fresh sanctions against 60 entities and individuals around the world, including some in mainland China and Hong Kong in the latest attempt to squeeze the Islamic republic economically after military and diplomatic efforts failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On Thursday, Trump also suggested that he might target Chinese banks for their dealings with Iranian entities.
Concerns are growing that the latest sanctions could ignite a new flashpoint in US-China ties just weeks ahead of Xi’s visit to Washington.
About half of China’s total seaborne crude oil imports in 2025 transited the Hormuz Strait, according to Chinese commodity market intelligence provider JLC. However, China’s vast pipeline network allows it to source oil and gas overland from Russia and Central Asia, mitigating the risk of maritime disruptions.
First proposed in 2006, the planned 2,600km (1,616-mile) Power of Siberia 2 pipeline is expected to deliver 50 billion cubic metres (1.77 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas annually to China via Mongolia from the Arctic gas fields of Yamal in Russia.

On the sidelines of Putin’s visit to Beijing in May, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that some contracts for the pipeline were approaching “final agreement” following the summit.
Beijing, however, has remained relatively quiet on the matter.
China’s first-ranked vice-premier Ding Xuexiang, who oversees the intergovernmental investment and energy cooperation commissions with Russia, will join Putin at the Eastern Economic Forum next week.
The international forum hosted annually in Vladivostok focuses primarily on economic integration between Russia and the Asia-Pacific region.