MOSCOW:Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said on Friday that the main threat for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members emanates from Afghanistan where international terrorist groups find shelter due to unstable and indefinite political situation.
Speaking at a meeting of the SCO defense ministers in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, Shoygu said Washington has stepped up efforts to restore its positions in Central and South Asia that were lost after the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan.
The military chief called “unacceptable” the deployment of the American military infrastructure in the region, arguing that intentions should be regarded as “a direct threat to stability in the SCO space.”
According to him, the US is trying to impose a new security system in the Asia-Pacific region for dominance.
Shoygu welcomed Iran’s accession to the SCO, and expressed hope that Belarus will join the bloc soon.
He lamented the West’s position regarding Iran’s retaliatory strike on Israel, asserting that double standards are applied when it comes to Tehran’s right to self-defense.
Shoygu urged the participants to ensure the SCO’s stability from external “destructive influences,” including attempts to provoke “color revolutions,” and to form the continental architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia.
“The main accent should be done on the development of contacts through the military line between the SCO and Collective Security Treaty Organization,” he said.
Close cooperation between the military, the formation of a stable information exchange for a timely response to terrorist and other possible threats, joint military drills have to be on the list of the SCO priorities, he said.
The minister suggested expanding the geography of joint exercises, strengthening their media coverage, inviting representatives of other regional associations, and “friendly” states.
“The implementation of these proposals will ensure the progressive development of the SCO and the maintenance of stability in the Organization’s space,” he said.
