A country under UN Security Council sanctions cannot become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.
"Countries which have difficulties with their legal status cannot claim SCO membership," Medvedev told a news conference, referring to new membership criteria approved at a SCO summit in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.
"A country under UN sanctions cannot claim membership of the organization," he added.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the summit that Iran, which is now under a fresh round of UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program, cannot join the SCO but can retain observer status.
"[The document] clearly states that one of the criteria [for joining] is that a country must not be under UN Security Council sanctions," Lavrov said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who spoke at the summit, reiterated that Tehran's nuclear program is of a peaceful civilian nature.
The SCO includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council approved a fourth round of economic sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear program.
The sanctions include tougher financial controls and an expanded arms embargo. They also impose an asset ban and a travel freeze on more than three dozen companies and individuals.
TASHKENT, June 11 (RIA Novosti)
