Russian president attends Shanghai summit

The 12th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization kicks off Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin attending, with a bounty of international and regional concerns, economic plans and programs, and ambitious security proposals on the agenda. With China and Russia the main players, the organization also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India, Pakistan, and Iran have observer status while Belarus and Sri Lankan had been given "dialogue partner" status. The summit would consider granting Afghanistan observer status and Turkey dialogue partner status. According to Russian sources, boosting cooperation on counter-terrorism is high on the agenda, as well as separatist movements, and extremism, especially in relation to the international forces' pullout from Afghanistan in 2014. The response to changes and threats from the Middle East and North Africa are also to come up. An important expected development at the summit is the announcement of a "stable prosperous peaceful zone" initiative, which focuses on stabilizing central Asia republics and protecting them against the spread of revolutions and social instability from other regions. On the sidelines of the summit, Putin is to hold talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tehran's nuclear dossier, in anticipation of the upcoming 6+Iran meeting, to be hosted by Moscow June 18. Russia is especially anxious over increased talk and calls for a strike on Iran, and Putin's security advisor had cautioned such strike would have "grave consequences" for both Israel and other countries in the region. The summiteers are also to elect a secretary general for the period starting 2013, with a Russian official among the candidates.