The Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s goal is “friendship in the name of something, not against someone” Dmitry Peskov says
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, September 15, 2022 © AP / Pool Sputnik Kremlin
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – the world’s biggest regional bloc, with Russia and China among the members – is not an alternative to a military alliance, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Thursday. His remarks came on the first day of the summit of the SCO, which currently has eight members and is set to expand.
Peskov explained that “all relations in the SCO are built on the basis of mutual respect for each other’s interests and mutual benefit.”
“No one sets the goal of making the SCO an alternative to a military organization. This is friendship in the name of something, not against someone,” he said.
In the wake of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, relations between Moscow and the West are at all-time lows. As NATO continues to expand and its members impose economic sanctions on Russia, Moscow insists that any attempts to isolate the country will fail. The key organizations that Russia is a part of, such as the BRICS and SCO, are also expanding. Iran and Argentina officially applied for BRICS membership in late June, and Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt have shown interest in joining the bloc.
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World’s largest regional organization set to expand – member state
Ahead of the summit in Samarkand, SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming said the suggestion that there is “a long queue outside the door” to the organization is not an exaggeration.
On Thursday, the SCO signed a protocol with Iran which paves the way for the country’s full accession.
The SCO encompasses 40% of the world’s population, and more than 30% of global GDP.
