Belarus has officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), founded by Russia and China to resolve issues related to international security, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and the state leaders of the other countries of the organization signed the documents for the admission of Belarus during the SCO summit in the Kazakh capital Astana.
Kazakhstan President Kassam-Jomart Tokayev, who this year chairs the SCO, congratulated his Belarusian colleague Alexander Lukashenko - considered by the West to be the last dictator in Europe, DPA notes.
After arriving in Astana yesterday, Putin held talks with several heads of state, including Xi. According to Chinese state television, Xi once again assured Putin during their bilateral meeting that he would continue to work for a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.
The Chinese president confirmed China's cooperation with Russia, which invaded neighboring Ukraine more than two years ago.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the talks with China as very successful. The two sides agreed that negotiations regarding the conflict in Ukraine are pointless without Russia's participation, Peskov told Russian state media.
Russia was not invited to participate in the peace summit initiated by Ukraine and Switzerland, which took place in mid-June in a Swiss resort in the Alps. For its part, China, which presented its peace plan to end the war, also did not take part in the meeting, which was later designated as a peace conference, DPA notes.
According to the Kremlin, Putin also discussed the war in Ukraine in Astana with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly acted as a mediator. During the talks, Erdogan again extended an invitation to Putin to make an official visit to Turkey. Turkey is not currently a member of the SCO.
The permanent members of the SCO are Kazakhstan, India, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and from today also Belarus. In total, they represent half of the world's population, according to AFP.