Putin confirms Iranian FM's remarks about western powers

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a regional security summit in St. Petersburg lashed out at the US and its European allies as "arrogant" powers.Russia's likely new head of state after next year's presidential elections accused Western nations of hypocrisy for backing revolutions in North African countries while supporting dictatorial regimes in the same countries. "It really is just like you said - these are arrogant world powers," Putin said in response to remarks from Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi made during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Saint Petersburg. "They also supported the old North African regimes," news agencies quoted Putin as saying in a clear reference to European powers and the United States. "But what is interesting, they also supported the North African revolutions as well, the ones that overthrew the old regimes." Russia strongly opposed NATO's air campaign in Libya and has warned the West against acting tough towards Syria. The 10th meeting of prime ministers of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) kicked off in St. Petersburg on Monday to lay a solid foundation for SCO cooperation in the next decade. The SCO has been developing in areas of security, economy and culture over the past decade and has seen fruitful results in enhancing mutual trust and cooperation among member states. The SCO is an intergovernmental international organization founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001 by six countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its member states cover an area of over 30 million km2, or about three fifths of Eurasia, with a population of 1.455 billion, about a quarter of the world's total. Its working languages are Chinese and Russian. Tehran is interested in joining the block. Currently, Iran is an observer member of the regional block. With its twin pillars, China and Russia, the SCO is seen as a counterweight to the US unilateralism "Russia would welcome the positive review of applications to join our organization in one form or another from any interested nation," Putin was quoted as saying.