Moscow supports the admission of Azerbaijan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as an observer. The statement came from Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov at a news conference on Wednesday, TASS reports .

“Participation in the SCO of both Azerbaijan and Russia will help strengthen bilateral cooperation in a number of trade, economic and cultural sectors,” the diplomat said.

At the same time, Bocharnikov added, Azerbaijan’s closer cooperation with the SCO “should proceed from the positions of the country itself.” “Azerbaijan enjoys great prestige in the international arena, the country’s authority is growing, and joining the SCO would correspond to this trend,” he said.

The Declaration on the establishment of the SCO was signed in Shanghai in June 2001 by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 2017, India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO. Azerbaijan has the status of a dialogue partner in the organization.