New Delhi: Russia supported India and noted that bilateral issues should not be raised in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) forum. The development comes after Pakistan tried to raise India-Pakistan issues at the virtual meeting.
Russia’s deputy envoy to Delhi Roman N Babushkin, in response to a question from WION, said: “This is part of the SCO letter and SCO basic documents not to put the bilateral issue on the agenda. It has been made clear to all Members that it should be avoided … in the interest of advancing multilateral cooperation. “
“The importance of the SCO is to address regional challenges, promote economic, financial and humanitarian partnership among member states to maintain momentum … we will not interfere in the bilateral affairs of India and Pakistan … Our position remains consistent and unchanged. We hope that this type of case does not appear, “he added.
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While Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raised the matter at the meeting of SCO heads of state held earlier this week. He had said: “It is regrettable that many attempts are being made to unnecessarily put bilateral issues on the SCO agenda. This is a violation of the SCO charter and the spirit of Shanghai.”
Read: Russian President Vladimir Putin takes note as Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at SCO meeting in front of Chinese President Xi Jinping
In the run-up to the SCO virtual summit, a series of SCO meetings were held. At the SCO-NSA virtual meeting, the Pakistani NSA posted a map of Pakistan that violated the territorial integrity of India prompting a strong response from New Delhi.
The SCO is a grouping of eight countries: India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
India will host SCO heads of government in a virtual meeting on November 30 that will focus on economic cooperation between nations.
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