Updated 12:58 a.m. Moscow time
DUSHANBE, September 12 (RIA Novosti) – Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have addressed numerous problems of international significance, such as the crisis in Ukraine, during their meeting Friday, and their views on these issues are largely identical, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"During our meeting in narrow format, we addressed other important issues on the international agenda, including the situation in Ukraine. We are quite satisfied with the fact that our approaches to the main areas of cooperation turned out to be either identical or close," the president said during the SCO summit held in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
Their common views on the situation in Ukraine are reflected in the final communique of the Dushanbe summit, according to Putin.
Ukraine has been engulfed in violent internal conflict since mid-April, when Kiev began its military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country. According to United Nations' estimates, some 3,000 people have been killed and more than 6,000 wounded since the start of the offensive.
Russia helped negotiate the ceasefire agreement in Ukraine reached on September 5 in Minsk and signaled its commitment to facilitating peace in the region.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an alliance of six member states – China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – and five observers, welcomes the 12-point Minsk roadmap toward peace in Ukraine, according to Tajik President Emomalii Rahmon, chairman of SCO Executive Committee.
Meanwhile, the European Union imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia, targeting the country's major defense and energy companies. The list of restrictive measures was published the EU Official Journal and came into effect Friday.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Moscow regrets the European Union's decision to impose new sanctions against Russia over its alleged negative role in Ukraine crisis, stressing that Brussels fails to see the reality of the situation in eastern Ukraine and the steps both sides are taking toward peace.
