Shanghai Summit: Putin Offers First Suggestion To Counter America Led West

<h4>&NewLine;Shanghai Summit&colon; Putin Offers First Suggestion To Counter America Led West<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that Russian President&comma; Vladimir Putin&comma; has told a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation &lpar;SCO&rpar; on Friday that the group should consider staging its own major sporting competition&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Putin said&colon; &&num;8220&semi;There are good opportunities to intensify sports cooperation with the prospect of holding major sporting events under the auspices of the SCO&period; To do this&comma; we could think about creating an association of sports organisations under our association&period;&&num;8221&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Putin made clear in a speech at a summit of SCO countries in Samarkand&comma; Uzbekistan&comma; on Friday that he wanted the group&comma; which includes the world&&num;8217&semi;s two most populous countries &&num;8211&semi;<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;"> China and India<&sol;a> &&num;8211&semi; to become a significant global counterweight to the American-led West&comma; which has turned its back on Russia over its invasion of <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;reuters&period;com&sol;">Ukraine<&sol;a>&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;A Russian doping scandal&comma; involving revelations of a state-backed system across many sports&comma; following the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi&comma; Russia&comma; has meant that Russian athletes&&num;8217&semi; participation at subsequent Olympics has been severely restricted&period; Those that have competed have only been allowed to do so under a neutral flag&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;China&comma; however&comma; has hosted both a Summer and a Winter Olympics since 2008&comma; although both were to some extent overshadowed by war or preparation for war between Russia and former Soviet republics&colon; Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2022&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko&comma; a close ally of Putin whose country is an observer at the SCO&comma; told the summit&colon;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8220&semi;We suggest the possibility of holding a complex of sporting competitions within the framework of the SCO&colon; summer events in 2024&comma; winter in 2026&period;&&num;8221&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;These dates broadly coincide with those of the Paris 2024 Summer <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">Olympics<&sol;a> and the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics &&num;8211&semi; both being held in western <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">Europe<&sol;a>&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The SCO is a security bloc established in 2001&period; It comprises China&comma; Russia&comma; India&comma; Pakistan and four post-Soviet Central Asian states&comma; and is in the process of admitting Iran&comma; another state at odds with the West&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Source&colon; Reuters<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;