Moscow supports Tehran�s willing to become SCO joint member, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)�� Moscow will maintain its support of�Tehran�s aspirations to�become a full-fledged member of�the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russian President Vladimir Putin said in�an interview.


"We are also interested in�strengthening our partnership with�Tehran in�regional affairs. We consider it an important factor of�maintaining stability and security across�a large territory from�Central Asia and the Caspian region to�the Middle East. We will continue to�support Iran's pursuit of�full SCO membership," Putin told the AZERTAC news agency.


SCO currently comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with�India and Pakistan set to�be acceded by�2017.

Since 2008, Russia has been advocating the idea of�Iran's SCO membership, but�the process had been complicated by�the sanctions regime against�Tehran, which has been lifted recently.

By Sputnik