PANAJI /Goa, India/, May 5. /TASS/. Participants in a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have agreed to revive the work of the SCO-Afghanistan group, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following the meeting on Friday.

"Today, we agreed to revitalize the SCO-Afghanistan contact group," Russia’s top diplomat said, adding that the group has not met for quite a long time already. The de-jure unrecognized status of the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) has been one of the reasons for that, Lavrov explained.

Meanwhile, efforts toward observing human rights, ensuring security on Afghan territory and eradicating terrorism and drug trafficking threats there have been under Russia’s control. He said that "all Shanghai [group] allies are unanimous in their positions" and expressed confidence that the proposal to intensify the work of the contact group will be implemented.

Referring to Russia’s latest foreign policy concept, Lavrov said that it highlighted the role of the SCO as a center of the emerging multipolar world order. He also mentioned the proposal put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin back in 2016 to integrate the SCO, the EAEU and ASEAN into a greater Eurasian partnership sharing the same geography. Russia views that as an open platform "that any other country or any other structure" can accede to.

"All this requires much effort, but the general line has been established already, and the process is currently being set in motion," Lavrov concluded.