Putin Walks Away After SCO Group Photo. Shehbaz Sharif’s Chase For A Chat Catches Attention

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared to make a quick move towards Russian President Vladimir Putin after the leaders attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit gathered for their formal group photograph in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

As the group photo concluded and Putin began walking away from the podium, Shehbaz Sharif was seen approaching the Russian president and appearing to stop him by holding his hand. The two then stood together and spoke briefly.

The interaction, captured on video, came moments after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were seen shaking hands and exchanging a few words before joining the other leaders for the group photograph.

World leaders at the SCO Summit including Pakistan’s

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, China’s Xi, Russia’s Putin, Belarus’ Lukashenko and Iran’s Pezeshkian, gather for a portrait.

Later, Shehbaz Sharif 🇵🇰 walks out conversing with President Putin. Building relationships anew pic.twitter.com/fU2BLnl8DH

— Samar Haroon Bilour (@SamarHBilour) September 1, 2026

Putin had also exchanged greetings with PM Modi before the photograph. The Indian Prime Minister had held a substantive bilateral meeting with the Russian president in Bishkek a day earlier, during which the two discussed the India-Russia relationship as well as trade, investment, energy and fertiliser security.

PM Modi also used the meeting to reiterate his call for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that every day spent in conflict “pushes humanity backwards” and urging the sides to move from “endless war” towards peace.

The PM Modi-Putin meeting came ahead of the Russian president’s expected visit to India later this month for the annual BRICS summit. The two leaders also travelled together in Putin’s limousine to the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games in Bishkek on Monday.

The SCO Summit has brought together leaders from 10 member states, including India, China, Russia and Pakistan, at a time of shifting geopolitical equations and heightened focus on regional security, connectivity and cooperation.

At the summit venue, PM Modi was also seen greeting Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi with a handshake and sharing a warm moment with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, with the two leaders embracing during the proceedings.