BEIJING, July 10. /TASS/. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has a full set of instruments in order to react to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s peace initiatives, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming said.

"Cooperation in the security sphere has been a priority for the organization since its inception - this is the task that the leaders of our countries have always treated with great attention. Due to this, we created a full set of mechanisms," he said at a press conference on the results of the Astana SCO summit, replying to a question by TASS on the matter.

The secretary general specified that the global geopolitical situation and the system of international relations "are undergoing a complex and profound transformation," and the SCO, much like the entire global community, is encountering a number of new challenges, "particularly in the fields of politics, diplomacy and cooperation in the security sphere."

He expressed hope that cooperation within the SCO will facilitate the shaping of Eurasia’s security architecture.

At a meeting with senior Russian diplomats on June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward new terms for resolving the Ukraine conflict. These include pulling out Ukrainian troops from the four new Russian regions and lifting all Western sanctions on Russia. He also demanded that Kiev drop its bid for NATO membership and Ukraine’s non-aligned and non-nuclear status be enshrined. Putin also pointed out that if Ukraine and the West reject these terms, they may change in the future. Kiev quickly rejected this initiative.