Need to Preserve Syria’s Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity Stressed

TASHKENT, (ST)-Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have stressed the need to preserve Syria’s unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability.

Concluding their summit in the Uzbekistani capital Tashkent, the SCO member states issued a communiqué affirming that there is no alternative for political settlement to the crisis in Syria to help the Syrians determine their own future.

 They reiterated the need to accelerate efforts aiming to attain stability in the Middle East and North Africa through realizing political settlement to crises there in accordance with the UN Charter principles and the international law norms.

According to the SCO states, international terrorism and extremism have become  a growing danger threatening the entire world.

 SCO is an intergovernmental organization and an international alliance of six states including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

 Putin says security key task of SCO

During a meeting of the SCO member states’ leaders on Friday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin called on SCO states to “continue improving potential of the regional anti-terrorist structure, coordination of law enforcers in the framework of the UN and other international organizations.”

The Russian president said SCO should work more effectively on the Organization’s draft convention on fighting extremism, should improve the legal base for cooperation in the sphere of information security.

 Hamda Mustafa