SAMARKAND, September 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi are holding talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit in Samarkand on Thursday.

It is expected they will focus, among other things, on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the Iranian nuclear program, bilateral cooperation, international and regional security, including the Syrian settlement, and the situations in Afghanistan and the southern Caucasus.

Putin and Raisi will also discuss Iran's upcoming accession to the SCO as a full member at the summit in Uzbekistan's capital, Samarkand.