NEW DELHI, April 28 -- Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday departed for Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers meeting, amid instability in West Asia following the US-Israel war with Iran.

Steps to mitigate the impact of the war are likely to be discussed during the meeting, the defence ministry said.

"This year's SCO meeting is taking place in the backdrop of geopolitical turmoil being witnessed due to the situation in West Asia. The SCO, one of the largest political and economic organisations of the region, may discuss measures to reduce the impact of the ongoing conflict," it said on Monday.

Iran is part of the SCO, a 10-member bloc.

Last week, Singh said in Germany that t...