ASTANA, July 4. /TASS/. Russia believes the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is doing very important work, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in Astana.

"Russia attaches great importance to cooperation between partners at the SCO. We state with satisfaction that this interaction continues to progress based on the principles of equality, consideration of each other’s interests and respect for cultural and civilizational diversity in the search for collegial solutions to pressing issues in the field of security," the Russian leader emphasized.

According to Putin, "quite a solid" package of documents and decisions had been prepared for the council meeting with active participation of Kazakhstan. He expressed confidence that the implementation of those documents would contribute to strengthening the role and posture of the SCO.

"How SCO member states view key issues on the global and regional agenda is reflected in the Astana declaration," Putin emphasized. In it, the SCO affirmed its commitment to building a fairer multipolar world order based on international law, with sovereign nations seeking mutually advantageous partnership and the United Nations playing a central role, he concluded.