MOSCOW, May 29: Leaders of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations on Thursday warned against unilateral action in the war on global terror and pledged closer ties as Moscow seeks to counter US influence in its traditional backyard.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) — which comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — agreed to transform their fledgling six-nation body into a proper international organisation by 2004.

The host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the six leaders agreed on the primacy of the United Nations, in a clear reference to the US-led war in Iraq.

“We have a common stance. There is no alternative to the United Nations as a universal organisation in the system of international relations,” he told a press conference after the summit.

A joint statement issued by the participants said the “war against terrorism should be pursued on the basis of international law. You cannot identify it with a war against any religion, country or nationality.”

Chinese President Hu Jintao, attending the summit on his first trip abroad since taking over the Chinese leadership in March, reaffirmed Beijing’s opposition to the US-led offensive in Iraq.

“The war in Iraq is over but the effects on the international situation have only just begun,” he told the gathering.

However, leaders at the summit reaffirmed their committment to the US-led war on extremism, pledging to fight the “terrorism, extremism and separatism” that threatens their volatile region.

Russia is aiming to win back its traditional sphere of influence in Central Asia, dotted with American bases since the US-led war on the Taliban in Afghanistan.—AFP