DUBAI, July 5. /TASS/. The Foreign Ministry of the Taliban (banned in Russia), the radical movement that seized power in Afghanistan, on Wednesday said the country has a right to take part in Shanghai Cooperation Organization summits.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes such meetings to improve coordination to ensure regional security and development of cooperation, and considers the participation of Afghanistan (which is an observer in the organization) in such meetings to be within its legitimate rights," the ministry said on Twitter.

The SCO was founded on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai. At first, the organization consisted of six countries - Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - and was joined in 2017 by India and Pakistan. The 23rd meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State, chaired by India, was held virtually on Tuesday. It was announced at the summit that Iran joined the group as its ninth member. Also, Belarus signed a memorandum of commitment, which set off the procedure for acquiring full membership in the organization.