Russia has announced that the coronavirus pandemic has forced it to postpone two international summits set for Saint Petersburg in July.

Officials responsible for the Brics and SCO summits “decided to postpone” both events scheduled for July 21-23 in Russia's second city, according to a statement on the Kremlin website.

The decision was made “taking into account the global coronavirus pandemic and the associated temporary restrictive measures”, it added.

The summits would have brought together leaders of Brics countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — and of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries, which include Russia, China, India, Pakistan and several Central Asian countries.