SCO expansion high on agenda: Russian FM

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov smiles during a news conference in Moscow, January 21, 2015.?[Photo/Agencies]

MOSCOW - Admission of new members to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has been high on the agenda of its upcoming summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"The SCO enlargement would be the main item on the agenda of the organization's summit in the Russian city of Ufa in summer," the minister told a news conference.

"Iran has applied for admission to the SCO. This is realistic enough," he said, adding that Iran may become a member if progress would be made in solving the Iranian nuclear issue, as the SCO membership criteria include the absence of any UN sanctions on a candidate state.

The Ufa summit will prioritize the applications of India and Pakistan for full-fledged membership in the SCO, Lavrov noted, saying there is rather broad consensus on the two countries' membership.

China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are full members of the SCO. Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan participate as observers while Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners of the bloc.