Expanding SCO one of top priorities of Russia’s presidency in organization - diplomat

BEIJING, July 7. /TASS/. The priority of Russian presidency in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is the expansion of the organization, Russia’s Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov told TASS on Tuesday. "Expanding SCO is one of priorities of current Russia’s presidency in the organization," the diplomat said, adding that "important political decisions are expected to be made at the summit in Ufa about launching the procedure of accepting new members." The procedure of accepting new members to SCO "envisages coordinating memorandums on commitments of these countries before and after [accession], including ratification, joining the package of basic SCO documents, and there are no less than 30 of them already," Denisov continued. Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said earlier that India and Pakistan will officially join SCO at the next summit in India in 2016. The process of joining the organization for these countries will be launched at this week’s summit in Ufa, he added. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, established on 15 June 2001, brings together Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status, while Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are "dialogue partners". India and Pakistan applied for full-fledged membership in the organization at a summit in Dushanbe. On July 8-10, SCO and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summits will take place in Russia’s Ufa. Read more