BISHKEK - The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members issued a joint declaration here Friday, clarifying the bloc's stand on such key issues as Syria and combating terrorism.

The Bishkek Declaration, signed by the six presidents of the SCO countries of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, said the international relations are undergoing profound changes with factors of instability and uncertainty remarkably increasing.

International and regional disputes should be peacefully resolved through political and diplomatic means under the principles of equality, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference into others' internal affairs and no use or threat of use of force, it said.

Reaffirming the dominant role of the United Nations in international affairs, the declaration urged related countries to find out a package of solutions over the reform of the UN Security Council, which takes into consideration each other's interests and concerns.

The declaration called on SCO members to improve the legal basis of their cooperation in fighting international terrorism, separatism, extremism and organized cross-border crimes.

On Syria, the member states expressed their grave concern and advocated that the region should achieve peace, stability, prosperity and progress without external interference, especially the interference of force, unauthorized by the UN Security Council.

Under the condition of respecting Syria's sovereignty, the SCO countries support the Syrian people to solve the crisis as soon as possible by halting violence in the country and launching unconditional and extensive political dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition on the basis of the Geneva communique issued on June 30, 2012.

The member states voiced support for an international conference to lay a foundation for Syria's reconciliation, normalization and the international participation, said the declaration.

The bloc also voiced support for putting the chemical weapons under the supervision of the international community and destroying them step by step, and suggested Syria join the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction.

The declaration also expressed concern on the issue of Iran, calling the threat of use of force by individual countries and unilateral sanctions unacceptable.

The bloc believes that the confrontation, if allowed to grow, will bring untold damages to peace and security of the region and the world at large.

The SCO member countries also voiced their stand on the issues of Afghanistan and the Korean Peninsula.

In the field of economy, the declaration called on the member states to take effective actions to boost economic cooperation, which serves as an important guarantee to stability of the region and sustainable development.

In the end, the SCO member states vowed to boost cooperation under the SCO framework, and lift the cooperation to a new level so as to turn the region into a harmonious one of lasting peace, friendliness and prosperity.