The meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek was heavy on symbolism, not least in inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a guest of honour.

Resource-rich Central Asia is seen by the US and Europe as a promising alternative energy source to Russia, while China is seeking oil and gas in the ex-Soviet region and Moscow wants to maintain its grip on export routes.

The SCO states, which two years ago called on the US to set a date for pulling troops out of Central Asia, are holding joint military exercises to coincide with the summit, prompting leading Russian daily Izvestia to dub the SCO 'the anti-Nato'.

In the most direct barb against the US, Mr Ahmadinejad said US plans for a missile defence shield 'concern most of the continent, both Asia and the SCO members'.

'There are still some countries used to speaking the language of force,' he said.

Moscow opposes a US plan to place parts of the proposed missile defence shield near Russia's border in Eastern Europe.

At the summit, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also agreed on greater energy cooperation and said they wanted to play a bigger role in helping Afghanistan and in fighting drug trafficking.

Earlier this year, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed a deal to expand a Soviet-era pipeline system to deliver gas from the Caspian region via Russia.

That deal undermined Western plans for an alternative export route under the Caspian Sea, bypassing Russia.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev told the summit the Soviet-era pipelines could become a basis of a common energy market for SCO states.

'Our actions should aim to create an 'energy club' which, in our understanding, could become one of the key elements of Asian energy strategy,' he said.

A Kremlin source, speaking ahead of the summit, said the 'energy club' would establish ground rules in regional energy - something Russia has failed to do with the European Union. But there was little detail on how the club would operate.

Today, all six leaders will fly to Russia to attend the climax of unprecedented SCO military manoeuvres held in the Ural Mountains area.

The leader of Mongolia and senior officials from India and Pakistan attended the summit as SCO observers. Turkmenistan's President attended as a guest.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE