SCO member states adopt joint declaration

A country with UN Security Council sanctions imposed on them cannot
become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.
"Countries which have difficulties with their legal status cannot
claim SCO membership," Medvedev told a news conference, referring to
new membership criteria approved at the SCO summit in the Uzbek
capital of Tashkent.
"A country under UN sanctions cannot claim membership of the
organization," he added.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the summit that Iran, which is now
under a fresh round of UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear
program, cannot join the SCO but can retain observer status.
"[The document] clearly states that one of the criteria [for joining]
is that a country must not be under UN Security Council sanctions,"
Lavrov said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who spoke at the summit,
reiterated that Tehran's nuclear program is of a peaceful civilian
nature.
The SCO includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and
Kyrgyzstan.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council approved a fourth round of
economic sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear
program.
The sanctions include tougher financial controls and an expanded arms
embargo. They also impose an asset ban and a travel freeze on more
than three dozen companies and individuals.
Following the summit the SCO member-states also adopted a joint declaration.