Member states succeed in preventing destabilization in SCO’s area of responsibility - Russian defense minister

BEIJING, April 24. /TASS/. Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) manage to prevent destabilization in the SCO’s area of responsibility despite rising global tensions, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said, addressing a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) defense ministers in Beijing on Tuesday. "I would like to stress that maintaining peace and stability is the SCO’s top priority," he said. "Despite rising global tensions, we manage to prevent destabilization in the organization’s area of responsibility," Shoigu added. At the same time, he pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin in his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly "called for thinking together about ways to renew the global security system and ensure the sustainable development of civilization." "The SCO’s activities should facilitate the implementation of this goal," Shoigu stressed. He also said that the SCO defense ministers meeting for the first time involved new members of the organization. "Thanks to our joint efforts, India and Pakistan have joined military cooperation between SCO members and now take part in all events arranged by defense ministries," he said. "The admission of new members definitely increases the SCO’s political, economic and humanitarian influence, as well as its influence in the security sphere," Shoigu went on to say. "New opportunities are emerging for us to influence regional and global processes," he noted. According to the Russian defense minister, multifaceted cooperation between SCO member states "has been steadily progressing." "New countries have been expressing interest in the SCO’s activities and wish to join the organization," he said. Read more