President Xi Jinping has a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on June 23, 2016. [Photo by Li Tao/Xinhua]

Putin offered condolences for the victims of the storms and tornado in eastern China's Jiangsu province, where at least 78 people were killed and nearly 500 injured on Thursday.

The Russian president said that he is looking forward to his visit to China and exchanging views with Xi on bilateral ties and multilateral cooperation.

The SCO has great influence in maintaining regional peace and promoting the networking of regional economies, Putin said.

Russia is willing to connect the construction of the Europe-Asia economic coalition with China's proposed Belt and Road Initiatives under the framework of the SCO, he said.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn