Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari are likely to meet this week at a summit of Asian states in Russia where Iran's president could make his first international appearance since Friday's disputed election. A meeting between Singh and Zardari -- the first since last November's attack on Mumbai – could help to break the ice between the two nuclear-armed powers. It was unclear whether they would hold a full bilateral discussion or simply take part in a wider meeting of members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and observer nations. The SCO groups Russia, China and the ex-Soviet Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Iran, whose states have observer status, were also expected at the summit in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. After protests in Tehran against his disputed election victory, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is likely to be eager to get a seal of approval for the vote. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is likely to have a separate meeting with Ahmadinejad that will focus on bilateral ties and Iran's nuclear programme, a Kremlin source said. North Korea and Afghanistan are likely to be top themes at the SCO meeting, which will be attended by Chinese President Hu Jintao, seen as the big power leader with the most clout in Pyongyang. When asked by reporters if North Korea would be raised, the Kremlin's top foreign policy adviser, Sergei Prikhodko said: “I am sure this theme will be discussed at the SCO summit.” “The provocative actions are making us think about what the decision-making system is there in North Korea (and) how it may react to the international sanctions,” he said. North Korea has raised tensions in the past months by test-firing missiles, restarting a plant to produce arms-grade plutonium and holding a May 25 nuclear test, which put it closer to having a working nuclear bomb. Brazil, Russia, India and China will hold a separate BRIC summit on today after the SCO meeting.
