MOSCOW, Sept 15 — Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the "Moscow-Beijing tandem” plays "a key role” in ensuring global and regional stability, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.

Speaking at a trilateral meeting with the Chinese and Mongolian leaders on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, TASS cited Putin as saying that the three countries shared positions on most issues, and that it was important to increase the use of national currencies in settlements. — Reuters