Central Asia balances SCO, UN diplomacy between Russia, China, US

October 1, 2026 at 06:50 PM2 min

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Central Asian states used the SCO summit in Bishkek and the UN General Assembly to balance ties with Russia, China, and the United States. Kyrgyzstan's Sadyr Japarov was the only regional president to attend the UN session, while Kazakhstan backed a US-backed Gaza resolution and joined its first Abraham Accords meeting. The balancing act comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to lead a C5+1 ministerial in Samarkand in mid-October.

Key Facts

Kyrgyzstan hosted the SCO 25th-anniversary summit in Bishkek on August 31 and September 1.
Only Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov attended the UN General Assembly session in New York, after stopping in Utah.
Kazakhstan backed Security Council Resolution 2803 endorsing Trump's Gaza peace plan, while Russia and China abstained.
Kazakhstan took part in its first Abraham Accords meeting in New York on September 24.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a delegation of more than 100 American companies to Samarkand for a C5+1 ministerial in mid-October.

SCO Summit in Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's 25th-anniversary summit on August 31 and September 1. Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Emomali Rahmon, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Sadyr Japarov attended in person, alongside China's Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and India's Narendra Modi. The Bishkek Declaration condemned military strikes on Iran and opposed unilateral coercive measures. Four of the five Central Asian states are SCO members, while Turkmenistan remains formally outside but occasionally participates as a guest.

UN General Assembly Attendance

Only Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov traveled to New York for the UN General Assembly, after making a stop in the US state of Utah. All five Central Asian countries had sent their heads of state to the UN's 80th anniversary session the previous year. China's Xi Jinping and India's Narendra Modi also skipped this year's session, though Xi was in Washington on a state visit around the same time. Japarov carried the SCO's complaint about Western sanctions to the UNGA podium and thanked Trump for cutting US funding to foreign NGOs.

Bilateral Gestures Toward Washington

Kazakhstan backed Security Council Resolution 2803, the November 2025 measure endorsing Trump's Gaza peace plan and his Board of Peace, even though Russia and China abstained. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sits on the Board of Peace. Kazakhstan announced in November 2025 that it would join the Abraham Accords and took part in its first accords meeting in New York on September 24. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a delegation of more than 100 American companies to Samarkand for a C5+1 ministerial meeting in mid-October, his first trip to the region.