Participation of India, Pakistan in SCO may help them overcome differences - Lavrov

UFA, July 9. /TASS/. The participation of India and Pakistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will help the countries to develop relations and overcome differences, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. "The more there are formats for cooperation and communication, in this case between India and Pakistan, the more possibilities there will be to help these two countries to overcome the remaining differences between them," Lavrov said. "I am sure that the membership of India and Pakistan in the SCO will be a "plus" also for development of their bilateral relations," he said. The SCO ensures a venue for an equal and mutually respecting and constructive dialogue and creates the "necessary atmosphere" so that these contradictions are covered up, Lavrov said. The SCO member-states which have contradictions with each other have an additional venue where they could "discuss the existing difficulties and find the necessary solutions," the minister stressed. India and Pakistan, which have observer status in the organisation together with Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan, submitted applications for the full membership last year. At present, the SCO comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Read more