BEIJING. May 11 (Interfax) - Delaying a decision to grant full-fledged membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to India and Pakistan is counterproductive, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"The question over the prospects of full-fledged membership for India and Pakistan, which submitted their applications a long time ago, is still open. Probably, the time has come to take a fresh look at this issue. Long delays in it are counterproductive," Lavrov said at a meeting with his counterparts from SCO member states in Beijing on Friday.
"In our opinion, it is important to draft a decision of the heads of state to speed up negotiations on universal financial, legal and administrative conditions for new members' admission. It is also necessary to give a concrete timeframe for implementing this instruction," he said.