ASTANA, July 3. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov lauded the admission of Belarus to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a major gain for the China-and Russia-led organization.

"We welcome the accession of Belarus to the SCO. It is our major ally. Joining the SCO meets the interests of Belarus," the Russian presidential spokesman told reporters as he described the move as "a major gain for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization." "Because this is mutually beneficial," he explained.

Peskov said that many more countries are interested in joining the organization. "Therefore, these expansion processes will be discussed at the summit tomorrow," he added.

At present, the SCO has nine members, namely China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Azerbaijan, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among their dialogue partners, while Mongolia has the status of an observer.

On July 3-4, Astana is hosting the SCO summit, with a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the organization scheduled to take place on Thursday. Apart from representatives from SCO member countries, the heads of state and government from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Mongolia, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Turkey and the UAE are expected to attend. SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming and UN chief Antonio Guterres should also take part. The first thing the organization will tend to at its summit is admitting Belarus as a full-fledged member, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced last week.