Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met for the second time in as many months as they visit Kazakhstan for a session of an international group founded to counter Western alliances.

Russia and Uzbekistan have signed an accord for Moscow to build a small nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country.

An economic grouping that includes several ex-Soviet nations along with Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey has held a summit in Uzbekistan, and leaders of member countries have vowed to further expand trade and economic ties.

Uzbekistan's central elections commission says that Uzbeks have given overwhelming approval in a referendum to constitutional changes that promise human rights reforms but that also would allow the country’s president to stay in office until 2040.

Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping for his “balanced” approach to the Ukrainian crisis and blasted Washington’s “ugly” policies at a meeting that followed a major setback for Moscow in the war.

Preliminary results from Uzbekistan’s presidential election show the incumbent leader winning a second five-year term in the tightly controlled Central Asian nation.

Uzbeks voted Sunday in a presidential election that the incumbent is expected to win in a landslide against weak competition.

The ruling emir of Qatar has urged world leaders gathered at the United Nations against turning their backs on Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers.

The leaders of five ex-Soviet Central Asian nations have voiced concern about instability possibly spilling out of Afghanistan and discussed ways to coordinate their response to potential security threats.

A Taliban surge has put the insurgents in control of key border posts, opened up fresh sources of revenue and rattled many of Afghanistan's neighbors.