Russia to host next SCO summit in Ufa

Russia will host the next summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Ufa in July 2015, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Russia took over the presidency in the organisation at its just concluded summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
“During this time [until the summit in Ufa] we are planning to hold more than 100 events, economic and humanitarian, at different levels,” Putin said, adding that preparations would be made for new admissions.
“India and Pakistan have expressed their wish to join [the organisation]. We will be working with all our partners and colleagues,” he said.
Putin assessed the results of the Dushanbe summit as “quite successful and fruitful”. He held a number of bilateral meetings on the summit’s sidelines, including with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other SCO leaders.
“We have a large volume of bilateral relations with each of these countries,” he said.
Putin briefed his SCO colleagues on the situation in Ukraine. The SCO leaders stated a common position on the issue.
They also discussed numerous threats that need to be addressed, such as the situation in Afghanistan, North Africa and other parts of the world.