Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will hold an online summit hosted by India seeking to expand the influence of the Eurasian group by including Iran and opening a path to membership for Belarus.

China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will participate in the virtual summit, which will be Mr Putin’s first appearance at an international event since he crushed a mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group last month.

Formed in 2001 by China and Russia, with former Soviet central Asian states as members and joined later by India and Pakistan, the eight-member SCO is a political and security group that seeks to counter Western influence in Eurasia.

While Iran is expected to be accepted as a member, Belarus will sign a memorandum of obligations which will lead to its membership later.

When both countries, which have observer status and enjoy close ties to Moscow, are accepted as members of the SCO it will expand the grouping’s western flank in both Europe and Asia.

The summit takes place barely two weeks after US President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state visit, with the two countries calling themselves “among the closest partners in the world”.

India, which holds the presidency of SCO and the G20 this year, has walked a diplomatic tightrope as relations between Western nations and a Russia-China partnership have been fraught due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year, and Beijing’s growing assertive presence in the global geopolitical theatre.

Mr Putin spoke to Mr Modi in a call last week to discuss the aftermath of the quashed mercenary mutiny.

During the discussion, Mr Modi reiterated a call for dialogue and diplomacy regarding the war in Ukraine.

Last year on the sidelines of the summit in Uzbekistan, Mr Modi told Mr Putin it is not the era of war, which is the closest India has come to addressing the issue of the war directly with the Russian leader.

Both Mr Putin and Mr Xi are expected to visit Delhi in September as India hosts the G20 summit.

Mr Biden and leaders of other member nations are also likely to be present.

India has refused to blame Russia for the war and increased bilateral trade largely by lifting purchases of Russian oil to a record high, which has irked several Western capitals.

At the summit on Tuesday, Mr Modi will also share the virtual stage with Mr Xi for the first time since November when the two leaders attended the G20 summit in Indonesia.

The relationship between the two nuclear-armed Asian giants has been frosty for more than three years as they are involved in a continuing stand-off on their Himalayan frontier.

It will also bring Mr Modi face-to-face online with his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif, 10 months after they both attended the SCO summit in Uzbekistan.

Delhi announced last month the summit would be held virtually, without providing any justification.

India will hand over the presidency of the bloc to Kazakhstan at the summit.

SCO member nations are expected to discuss Afghanistan, terrorism, regional security, climate change and digital inclusion, among other topics.