MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2020) Russia is still hoping that the epidemiological situation in July will allow the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to hold its next summit offline, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at a press conference following an online meeting with SCO counterparts that the next summit of the organization will be held, as expected, on 22-23 July in Saint Petersburg. The minister also added that the member states would continue regularly assessing the situation with the spread of COVID-19 and implement relevant changes to working schedules if necessary.
"So far, we are preparing for the offline [format]. The epidemiological data suggest that the situation could get back to normal by then. On the other hand, the situation forces us to come up with flexible solutions. Meaning that this [meeting format] can change," Peskov, who is currently receiving treatment from the coronavirus, told the Kommersant newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday.
The SCO was established in 2001. The intergovernmental organization comprises eight member states, namely China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
