"Indeed, Putin is planning to take part in the SCO summit in Samarkand, we are expecting an extremely important event, a unique one. The president has a whole range of very important international contacts planned there,” the Kremlin official said. He added that preparations for the summit are underway.

It is expected that the SCO summit, which will be held on September 15 and 16 in Samarkand, will be attended by all the leaders of the member countries. 

Currently, the SCO includes India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Observer states are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia while Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka are partner states.