THE AXIS OF UPHEAVAL

Putin & Xi head meeting of 10 Western foes

- BY CHRISTOPHER BODEEN

RUSSIAN tyrant Vladimir Putin was greeted by Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday at a summit attended by 10 countries, including several foes of the West.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization - dubbed "the scariest grouping you've never heard of" - met in the Chinese port city of Tianjin.

The gathering was seen as a challenge to the US's influence over trade and conflicts in Central Asia.

The group has grown in size over the past 24 years, though its goals and programs remain murky.

Its other members are Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.