St Petersburg, May 27: The 2020 summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS group have been postponed in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The summits were scheduled to take place in Russia from July 21 to July 23 in St Petersburg. The new dates will be announced after taking into consideration the epidemiological situation, the Kremlin said. Check Live Breaking News & Coronavirus Updates From India And Cross the World.

"Organising Committee to Prepare and Support Russia’s SCO Presidency in 2019–2020 and BRICS Chairmanship in 2020 decided to postpone BRICS leaders’ meeting and meetings of SCO Heads of State Council, scheduled to take place on July 21–23, in St Petersburg," Kremlin said.

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"The new dates for these summits will be determined on the basis of the epidemiological situation in the states participating in these associations, and around the world," it added.

BRICS is the acronym for five major emerging economies- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The SCO brings together China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Belarus are SCO observers, while Armenia, Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 27, 2020 08:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).