Russia and China are not seeking a joint military bloc despite close cooperation in the defense and technical areas, said a senior Kremlin official.

      According to Sergey Ivanov, head of the presidential executive office, the two countries are working together in the defense industry but this collaboration is not aimed against a third country.

      There are no plans to turn the Shanghai Cooperation Organization into a military alliance, either, he added. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization unites Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

      As for the use of national currencies in settlements, an idea that has been mulled for a couple of years now, it may become a reality only in the mid-term.

      Earlier in May, Russia and China inked an historic 30-year deal on natural gas supplies worth $400 billion.

      According to a source at Gazprom quoted by the Izvestia daily, the price has been set at $350-380 per thousand cubic meters of gas.