SOCHI, December 16 (RIA Novosti) - The possibility of Belarus joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional security body, will have to be discussed by all the member-countries, the Russian president said Friday.

Asked whether Belarus would join the SCO, Vladimir Putin said: "The SCO is an open organization."

However, Putin said the issue had not been raised in his talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko Thursday.