Medvedev: Russia sees no hurdle for Iran's membership in SCO

Talking to the press conference at the end of Forum of SCO Prime Ministers in Sochi, he said that Iran and Afghanistan have officially applied for membership in the SCO while they are already present in the organization as observers.

'Earlier, the situation was very complicated due to certain international issues regarding Iran's nuclear activities, but now the problems have been resolved,' Medvedev added.

However, decisions to admit new members to the bloc depends on collective consensus, he said, noting that's for the same reason that membership of India and Pakistan took a long time.

In a meeting with Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri on November 30, Medvedev welcomed Iran's accession to the SCO, saying that Moscow sees no hurdle in Iran's joining the bloc as a main member.

The 16th Forum of SCO Prime Ministers was held on December 1 in the Russian port city of Sochi.

SCO is an intergovernmental organization founded by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in 2001 in a bid to promote multilateral cooperation in the fields of security, economy and culture. Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Belarus joined the entity as observer members.

Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and India are current members of SCO.

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