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Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed Iran’s accession to membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), noting the importance of assisting Tehran in adapting to all of the alliance’s processes, TASS reported.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will now participate in our organization in a full-fledged format. I would like to extend congratulations on this occasion to the president of Iran, Mr. Ebrahim Raisi, and sincere greetings to him," the Russian leader said at the SCO’s virtual online summit being hosted by India, the current one-year SCO chair.

"In less than two years, our Iranian partners completed all the necessary procedures and now our shared task is to help our colleagues to productively join in the multifaceted activities taking place within the framework of the SCO," Putin added.

Overall, he emphasized that one cannot but be pleased with the increasing authority and clout of the SCO and the growing interest in the organization’s activities on the part of other countries and international structures. "Many of them aspire to establish an equitable dialogue with the SCO and are considering the possibility of joining its work. They trust us, they want to be friends with us and cooperate with us," the Russian president stated.