Samarkand, the ancient Uzbek city hosting leaders defying West

Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping are gathering with other Asian leaders in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand for a regional summit touted as a challenge to Western global influence.

Xi and Putin will be joined by the leaders of India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and several other countries for the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Uzbek city.