Chinese, Russian presidents meet in Dushanbe

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev met yesterday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe to discuss bilateral relations.

After exchanging cordial greetings and praising each other's athletes' performance in the Olympics, the two sat down to discuss international affairs and the direction of Sino-Russian relations.

The Russian leader briefed Hu about the developments in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and about Russia's stance on the issue.

Hu responded that China was following the situation and expected the issue to be settled through dialog and coordination, CRI writes.

On the SCO summit, Hu said that China and Russia should assume a leading role in enhancing and pushing forward coordination in politics, trade, economy and security within the organization, CRI says.

Turning to bilateral relations, Medvedev said that the frequent meetings between Russian and Chinese leaders were indicative of the close relations between the two states, CRI writes.

Medevedev also said that Sino-Russian relations play a key role in the development of Central Asia and that Russia is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation within the SCO in a bid to jointly preserve peace and stability in the region, CRI reports.

Hu said that strategic cooperation between the two countries has maintained a sound momentum of development.

Founded in Shanghai in 2001, the SCO groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India are observers of the SCO. This year's summit focuses on economic, security and cultural cooperation in the region.