President Xi, Putin hail bilateral ties, role of SCO
President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hailed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a force for global stability at a summit of the regional body in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. In their second meeting in as many months, Xi told Putin that China and Russia should "uphold the original aspiration of friendship for generations" in response to an "ever-changing international situation". Calling Putin an "old friend", Xi alluded to the progress the two countries had made in putting in place "plans and arrangements for the next development of bilateral relations". The president said the two sides should continuously conserve the unique value in China-Russia relations, and explore the internal driving force of bilateral cooperation.  For his part, Putin said the SCO has “firmly established itself as one of the key pillars of a fair, multipolar world order", adding that bilateral ties between Moscow and Beijing were at their best in history. "Our cooperation is not aimed against anyone, we are not creating any blocs or alliances, we are just acting in the interests of our peoples," Putin said. Putin's spokesman later told state TV that the two leaders discussed Ukraine and agreed that peace talks without Russia's presence were futile. (Agencies)