War in Russia, floods in Pakistan can’t keep Putin, Sharif away from delicacies at SCO meet

India Today:

Despite the Russia-Ukraine war entering seven months and Pakistan facing one of its worst flood, leaders of both the countries were seen enjoying the delicacies at the SCO Summit 2022. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin couldn’t stay away from delicacies at the SCO summit that began on Thursday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan was also seen with them.

The SCO is holding its first in-person summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan after two years. The summit is being held over a span of two days from September 15 to 16.

It is to be noted that Ukrainian forces have made significant gains in the regions captured by Russian military forces. A counter offensive by Ukrainian forces in the last week has led to the recapturing of hundreds of villages in the region and Putin is under pressure from Russian nationalists to regain the initiative. Russian soldiers are also retreating in most of the areas after losing control of the regions.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has been struggling with the worst floods in the past 30 years, leaving more than 1,400 dead and 33 million people affected since early June. A third of the country is submerged in water and one in every seven persons is badly affected by the floods that have led to an estimated USD 12 billion in losses.