MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax-AVN) - The Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the SCO Regional Anti- Terrorist Center may start functioning in 2004, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the SCO Moscow summit on Thursday.
"This is a matter of permanent bodies, with the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Center based in Bishkek," Putin said. "We can now decide when they start functioning. I would like this to happen in 2004."
Much was done before the summit to draft SCO regulations, Putin said.
Yet a number of legal issues need to be settled, and the SCO budget needs to be adopted before the organization can start fully functioning, Putin said. He thinks the Council of SCO National Coordinators should consider these issues.
The Council of SCO Foreign Ministers may convene before the end of the year, Putin said.
Moscow supports the appointment of Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Deguang as SCO executive secretary, Putin said. "Zhang Deguang knows regional problems well, and Russia wholly supports his appointment," he noted.
"We expect the activities of Mr. Zhang Deguang to raise the efficiency of our cooperation," Putin said.