Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Coordinates: 39°57′16.43″N 116°28′19.50″E / 39.9545639°N 116.4720833°E

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
上海合作组织
Шанхайская организация сотрудничества
(SCO / ShOS)

Logo of the SCO

  Members   Observers   Dialogue Partners
Formation 26 April 1996
Type Mutual security, political, economic organisation
Headquarters Beijing, China
Membership
Official language
 Chinese
Russian
Secretary General
 Dmitry Fyodorovich Mezentsev
Deputy Secretaries General

Mikhail Alekseyevich Konarovskiy
Anvar Djamaletdinovich Nasyrov

Juyin Hong
Parviz Davlatkhodjayevich Dodov
Website www.sectsco.org

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO or Shanghai Pact[1] (simplified Chinese: 上海合作组织; traditional Chinese: 上海合作組織; pinyin: Shànghǎi Hézuò Zǔzhī; Russian: Шанхайская организация сотрудничества (ШОС), Shankhayskaya organizatsiya sotrudnichestva) is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organisation.

Official names

The official working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are Chinese and Russian. The official names of the organization in the two languages, abbreviations in parentheses, are:

Chinese:

Russian:

Membership

Member States[2]

Date Country Enlargement
26 April 1996  China Founders
 Kazakhstan
 Kyrgyzstan
 Russia
 Tajikistan
15 June 2001  Uzbekistan First

Observer States[2]

Dialogue Partners[2]

Guest Attendances

Origins

The Shanghai Five grouping was created 26 April 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai by the heads of states of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. According to political scientist Thomas Ambrosio, one aim was to ensure that liberal democracy could not gain ground in these countries.[4] On 24 April 1997, the same countries signed the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions in a meeting in Moscow.[5]

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev, and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov, at one time the leaders of the Shanghai Five.

Subsequent annual summits of the Shanghai Five group occurred in Almaty (Kazakhstan) in 1998, in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) in 1999, and in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) in 2000. At the Dushanbe summit, members agreed to "oppose intervention in other countries' internal affairs on the pretexts of 'humanitarianism' and 'protecting human rights;' and support the efforts of one another in safeguarding the five countries' national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and social stability."[6]

In 2001, the annual summit returned to Shanghai. There the five member nations first admitted Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism (thus transforming it into the Shanghai Six). Then all six heads of state signed on 15 June 2001, the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, praising the role played thus far by the Shanghai Five mechanism and aiming to transform it to a higher level of cooperation. On 16 July 2001, Russia and the PRC, the organisation's two leading nations, signed the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation.

In June 2002, the heads of the SCO member states met in Saint Petersburg, Russia. There they signed the SCO Charter which expounded on the organisation's purposes, principles, structures and form of operation, and established it in international law.

Its six full members account for 60% of the land mass of Eurasia and its population is a quarter of the world's. With observer states included, its affiliates account for about half of the world's population.

In July 2005, at its fifth and watershed summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, with representatives of India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan attending an SCO summit for the first time, the president of the host country, Nursultan Nazarbayev, greeted the guests in words that had never before been used in any context: "The leaders of the states sitting at this negotiation table are representatives of half of humanity".[7]

By 2007 the SCO had initiated over twenty large-scale projects related to transportation, energy and telecommunications and held regular meetings of security, military, defence, foreign affairs, economic, cultural, banking and other officials from its member states.

The SCO has established relations with the United Nations, where it is an observer in the General Assembly, the European Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Organisational structure

The Council of Heads of State is the top decision-making body in the SCO. This council meets at the SCO summits, which are held each year in one of the member states' capital cities. The current Council of Heads of State consists of:

The Council of Heads of Government is the second-highest council in the organisation. This council also holds annual summits, at which time members discuss issues of multilateral cooperation. The council also approves the organisation's budget.

The Council of Foreign Ministers also hold regular meetings, where they discuss the current international situation and the SCO's interaction with other international organisations.[8]

The Council of National Coordinators coordinates the multilateral cooperation of member states within the framework of the SCO's charter.

The Secretariat of the SCO is the primary executive body of the organisation. It serves to implement organisational decisions and decrees, drafts proposed documents (such as declarations and agendas), function as a document depository for the organisation, arranges specific activities within the SCO framework, and promotes and disseminates information about the SCO. It is located in Beijing. The current SCO Secretary-General is Muratbek Imanaliyev of Kyrgyzstan, a former Kyrgyz Minister of Foreign Affairs and professor at the American University of Central Asia.[9]

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. The Head of RATS is elected to a three-year term. Each member state also sends a permanent representative to RATS.[10]

Activities

Cooperation on security

The SCO is primarily centered on its member nations' Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism. However evidence is growing that its activities in the area of social development of its member states is increasing fast.[11]

At 16–17 June 2004 SCO summit, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Regional Antiterrorism Structure (RATS) was established. On 21 April 2006, the SCO announced plans to fight cross-border drug crimes under the counter-terrorism rubric.[12]

Grigory Logninov claimed in April 2006 that the SCO has no plans to become a military bloc; nonetheless he argued that the increased threats of "terrorism, extremism and separatism" make necessary a full-scale involvement of armed forces.[13]

In October 2007, the SCO signed an agreement with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, to broaden cooperation on issues such as security, crime, and drug trafficking.[14] Joint action plans between the two organisations are planned to be signed by early 2008 in Beijing.[15]

The organisation is also redefining cyberwarfare, saying that the dissemination of information "harmful to the spiritual, moral and cultural spheres of other states" should be considered a "security threat". An accord adopted in 2009 defined "information war", in part, as an effort by a state to undermine another's "political, economic, and social systems".[16]

Military activities

SCO leaders at Peace Mission 2007. Hu Jintao, Vladimir Putin, Nursultan Nazarbayev and Islam Karimov

Over the past few years, the organisation's activities have expanded to include increased military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and counterterrorism.[17]

There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises. The first of these was held in 2003, with the first phase taking place in Kazakhstan and the second in China. Since then China and Russia have teamed up for large-scale war games in 2005 (Peace Mission 2005), 2007 and 2009, under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. More than 4,000 Chinese soldiers participated at the joint military exercises in 2007 (known as "Peace Mission 2007") which took place in Chelyabinsk Russia near the Ural Mountains, as was agreed upon in April 2006 at a meeting of SCO Defence Ministers. Air forces and precision-guided weapons were also likely to be used. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said that the exercises would be transparent and open to media and the public. Following the war games' successful completion, Russian officials began speaking of India joining such exercises in the future and the SCO taking on a military role. Peace Mission 2010, conducted September 9–25 at Kazakhstan's Matybulak training area, saw over 5,000 personnel from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan conduct joint planning and operational maneuvers.[18]

The SCO has served as a platform for larger military announcements by members. During the 2007 war games in Russia, with leaders of SCO member states in attendance including Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russia's President Vladimir Putin used the occasion to take advantage of a "captive" audience: Russian strategic bombers, he said, would resume regular long-range patrols for the first time since the Cold War. "Starting today, such tours of duty will be conducted regularly and on the strategic scale", Putin said. "Our pilots have been grounded for too long. They are happy to start a new life".

On June 4, 2014, in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, the idea was brought up to merge the SCO with the Collective Security Treaty Organization. It is still being debated.

Economic cooperation

All SCO members but China are also members of the Eurasian Economic Community. A Framework Agreement to enhance economic cooperation was signed by the SCO member states on 23 September 2003. At the same meeting the PRC's Premier, Wen Jiabao, proposed a long-term objective to establish a free trade area in the SCO, while other more immediate measures would be taken to improve the flow of goods in the region.[19][20] A follow up plan with 100 specific actions was signed one year later, on 23 September 2004.[21]

On 26 October 2005, during the Moscow Summit of the SCO, the Secretary General of the Organisation said that the SCO will prioritise joint energy projects; such will include the oil and gas sector, the exploration of new hydrocarbon reserves, and joint use of water resources. The creation of an Inter-bank SCO Council was also agreed upon at that summit in order to fund future joint projects. The first meeting of the SCO Interbank Association was held in Beijing on 21–22 February 2006.[22][23] On 30 November 2006, at The SCO: Results and Perspectives, an international conference held in Almaty, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia is developing plans for an SCO "Energy Club".[24] The need for this "club" was reiterated by Moscow at an SCO summit in November 2007. Other SCO members, however, have not committed themselves to the idea.[25] However on 28 August 2008 summit it was stated that "Against the backdrop of a slowdown in the growth of world economy pursuing a responsible currency and financial policy, control over the capital flowing, ensuring food and energy security have been gaining special significance".[26]

At the 2007 SCO summit Iranian Vice President Parviz Davudi addressed an initiative that has been garnering greater interest and assuming a heightened sense of urgency when he said, "The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a good venue for designing a new banking system which is independent from international banking systems".[27]

The address by Putin also included these comments:

"We now clearly see the defectiveness of the monopoly in world finance and the policy of economic selfishness. To solve the current problem Russia will take part in changing the global financial structure so that it will be able to guarantee stability and prosperity in the world and to ensure progress.
"The world is seeing the emergence of a qualitatively different geo-political situation, with the emergence of new centers of economic growth and political influence.
"We will witness and take part in the transformation of the global and regional security and development architectures adapted to new realities of the 21st century, when stability and prosperity are becoming inseparable notions."[28]
Leaders present at the SCO summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2009.

On 16 June 2009, at the Yekaterinburg Summit, China announced plans to provide a US$10 billion loan to SCO member states to shore up the struggling economies of its members amid the global financial crisis.[29][30] The summit was held together with the first BRIC summit, and the China-Russia joint statement said that they want a bigger quota in the International Monetary Fund.[31]

Cultural cooperation

Cultural cooperation also occurs in the SCO framework. Culture ministers of the SCO met for the first time in Beijing on April 12, 2002, signing a joint statement for continued cooperation. The third meeting of the Culture Ministers took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 27–28 April 2006.[32][33]

An SCO Arts Festival and Exhibition was held for the first time during the Astana Summit in 2005. Kazakhstan has also suggested an SCO folk dance festival to take place in 2008, in Astana.[34]

Summits

Summit of Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) in 2007.

According to the Charter of the SCO, summits of the Council of Heads of State shall be held annually at alternating venues. The locations of these summits follow the alphabetical order of the member state's name in Russian.[35] The charter also dictates that the Council of Heads of Government (that is, the Prime Ministers) shall meet annually in a place decided upon by the council members. The Council of Foreign Ministers is supposed to hold a summit one month before the annual summit of Heads of State. Extraordinary meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers can be called by any two member states.[35]

List of summits

Heads of State
Date Country Location
14 June 2001  China Shanghai
7 June 2002  Russia Saint Petersburg
29 May 2003  Russia Moscow
17 June 2004  Uzbekistan Tashkent
5 July 2005  Kazakhstan Astana
15 June 2006  China Shanghai
16 August 2007  Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
28 August 2008  Tajikistan Dushanbe
15–16 June 2009  Russia Yekaterinburg
10–11 June 2010  Uzbekistan Tashkent[36]
14–15 June 2011  Kazakhstan Astana[37]
6–7 June 2012  China Beijing
13 September 2013  Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
11–12 September 2014  Tajikistan Dushanbe
Heads of Government
Date Country Location
September 2001  Kazakhstan Almaty
23 September 2003  China Beijing
23 September 2004  Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
26 October 2005  Russia Moscow
15 September 2006  Tajikistan Dushanbe
2 November 2007  Uzbekistan Tashkent
30 October 2008  Kazakhstan Astana
14 October 2009  China Beijing[38]
25 November 2010  Tajikistan Dushanbe[39]
7 November 2011  Russia Saint Petersburg
5 December 2012  Kyrgyzstan Bishkek[40]
29 November 2013  Uzbekistan Tashkent
14-15 December 2014  Kazakhstan Astana


Future membership possibilities

In June 2010, the SCO approved the procedure of admitting new members, though new members have yet to be admitted.[41] Several states, however, participate as observers, some of whom have expressed interest in becoming full members in the future. The implications of Iran joining the organization has been given much thought academically.[42] In early September 2013 Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said during his meeting with his Chinese counterpart that Armenia would like to obtain an observer status in the SCO.[43] A senior Chinese official indicated that India and Pakistan may become regular members at the 2014 SCO summit.[44]

Except for Afghanistan, the observers are moving towards being accorded full member status.[45][46] Meanwhile, in 2012 Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Nepal and Sri Lanka applied for observer status within the organization.[47]

Current observers

Putin with representatives from Iran and Mongolia, observers in the SCO, at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government in 2005.

Dialogue Partner

Afghan President Hamid Karzai at an SCO summit in 2004.

The position of Dialogue Partner was created in 2008 in accordance with Article 14 of the SCO Charter of 7 June 2002. This article regards Dialogue Partner as a state or an organisation who shares the goals and principles of the SCO and wishes to establish relations of equal mutually beneficial partnership with the Organisation.[57]

Relations with the West

Western media observers believe that one of the original purposes of the SCO was to serve as a counterbalance to NATO and in particular to avoid conflicts that would allow the United States to intervene in areas bordering both Russia and China.[62][63] And although not a member state, the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used his speeches at the SCO to make verbal attacks against the United States.[64]

While the SCO (together with the BRICS) is described by Western analysts as a way for Russia and China to cooperate with each other in creating stability in Central Asia as well as challenging the current, Western-dominated global order, the organisation's lack of resources are seen as a sign of weakness.[65]

The United States applied for observer status in the SCO, but was rejected in 2005.[66]

At the Astana summit in July 2005, with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq foreshadowing an indefinite presence of U.S. forces in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the SCO urged the U.S. to set a timetable for withdrawing its troops from SCO member states. Shortly afterwards, Uzbekistan asked the U.S. to leave the K-2 air base.[67]

The SCO has made no direct comments against the U.S. or its military presence in the region; however, some indirect statements at the past summits have been viewed by the western media as "thinly veiled swipes at Washington".[68]

Geopolitical aspects of the SCO

There have been many discussions and commentaries about the geopolitical nature of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Matthew Brummer, in the Journal of International Affairs, tracks the implications of SCO expansion into the Persian Gulf.[69]

Iranian writer, Hamid Golpira, had this to say on the topic: "According to Zbigniew Brzezinski's theory, control of the Eurasian landmass is the key to global domination and control of Central Asia is the key to control of the Eurasian landmass....Russia and China have been paying attention to Brzezinski's theory, since they formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in 2001, ostensibly to curb extremism in the region and enhance border security, but most probably with the real objective of counterbalancing the activities of the United States and NATO in Central Asia".[70]

At a 2005 summit in Kazakhstan the SCO issued a Declaration of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which addressed their "concerns" and contained an elaboration of the organisation's principles. It included: "The heads of the member states point out that, against the backdrop of a contradictory process of globalisation, multilateral cooperation, which is based on the principles of equal right and mutual respect, non-intervention in internal affairs of sovereign states, non-confrontational way of thinking and consecutive movement towards democratisation of international relations, contributes to overall peace and security, and call upon the international community, irrespective of its differences in ideology and social structure, to form a new concept of security based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and interaction."[71]

In November 2005 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that the "Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is working to establish a rational and just world order" and that "The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation provides us with a unique opportunity to take part in the process of forming a fundamentally new model of geopolitical integration".[72]

A Chinese daily expressed the matter in these terms: "The Declaration points out that the SCO member countries have the ability and responsibility to safeguard the security of the Central Asian region, and calls on Western countries to leave Central Asia. That is the most noticeable signal given by the Summit to the world".[73]

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has concluded that the United States is manoeuvring "to preserve its status as the world's sole superpower and will not allow any country the chance to pose a challenge to it".[74]

An article in The Washington Post in early 2008 reported that President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia could aim nuclear missiles at Ukraine if Russia's neighbour and former fraternal republic in the Soviet Union joins the NATO alliance and hosts elements of a U.S. missile defence system. "It is horrible to say and even horrible to think that, in response to the deployment of such facilities in Ukrainian territory, which cannot theoretically be ruled out, Russia could target its missile systems at Ukraine", Putin said at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who was visiting the Kremlin. "Imagine this just for a second".[75][76]

The International Federation for Human Rights has called SCO a "vehicle" for human rights violations.[77]

See also

References

  1. ↑ James A. Millward (2007). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-0-231-13924-3.
    Suisheng Zhao (2004). Chinese Foreign Policy: Pragmatism and Strategic Behavior. M.E. Sharpe. p. 263. ISBN 978-0-7656-1284-7.
    Constantine Menges (19 April 2005). China: The Gathering Threat: The Gathering Threat. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 460. ISBN 978-1-4185-5166-7.
    Martin Sieff (2009). Shifting Superpowers: The New and Emerging Relationship Between the United States, China, and India. Cato Institute. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-1-935308-21-8.
    Colin Mackerras; Foundation Professor in the School of Asian and International Studies Colin Mackerras (2 September 2003). China's Ethnic Minorities and Globalisation. Routledge. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-134-39288-9.
    Boris Z. Rumer (1 January 2002). Central Asia: A Gathering Storm?. M.E. Sharpe. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7656-0866-6.
    Martin Sieff (8 March 2012). That Should Still Be Us: How Thomas Friedman's Flat World Myths Are Keeping Us Flat on Our Backs. John Wiley & Sons. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-118-24063-2.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization". Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "SCO accepts Afghanistan as observer, Turkey dialogue partner". Xinhua. June 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  4. ↑ Ambrosio (October 2008). "Catching the ‘Shanghai Spirit’: How the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Promotes Authoritarian Norms in Central Asia". Europe-Asia Studies 60 (8).
  5. ↑ Al-Qahtani, Mutlaq (2006). "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Law of International Organizations" (PDF). Chinese Journal of International Law (Oxford University Press) 5 (1): 130. ISSN 1540-1650.
  6. ↑ Gill. "Shanghai Five: An Attempt to Counter U.S. Influence in Asia?". Brookings. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Kazinform, July 5, 2005
  8. ↑ Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers from Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Embassy of the Russian Federation in Malaysia
  9. ↑ SCO Secretariat in Brief SCO Website
  10. ↑ Information on Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO Website
  11. ↑ Zaidi, Mujtaba Haider. "The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation and US Supremacy" African Herald Express. August 20, 2013 URL: http://africanheraldexpress.com/blog8/2013/08/20/the-shanghai-co-operation-organisation-and-us-supremacy/
  12. ↑ SCO to intensify fight against cross-border drug crimes Xinhua.net
  13. ↑ SCO gets ready for joint military exercise World Student Press Agency
  14. ↑ Security alliances led by Russia, China link up Daily Times
  15. ↑ Kazakhstan Notes Afghanistan's Emerging Security Agenda Eurasia Daily Monitor
  16. ↑ Tom Gjelten (September 23, 2010). "Seeing The Internet As An 'Information Weapon'". National Public Radio. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  17. ↑ http://www.cfr.org/publication/10883/
  18. ↑ Boland, Julie. "Learning From The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's 'Peace Mission-2010' Exercise", The Brookings Institution, October 29, 2010
  19. ↑ Central Asian powers agree to pursue free-trade zone
  20. ↑ "China Intensifies Regional Trade Talks". Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
  21. ↑ Joint Communique of the Council of the Governmental Heads (Prime Ministers) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Member States University of Hawaii
  22. ↑ Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Eyes Economic, Security Cooperation The Jamestown Foundation
  23. ↑ SCO Ministers of Foreign Economic Activity and Trade to meet in Tashkent National Bank of Uzbekistan
  24. ↑ Russia's Foreign Ministry develops concept of SCO energy club Gazeta.kz
  25. ↑ Russia Urges Formation of Central Asian Energy Club Eurasianet
  26. ↑ Chronicle of Main Events of "Shanghai Five" and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
  27. ↑ Mehr News Agency, October 31, 2008
  28. ↑ Russia Today, October 30, 2008
  29. ↑ (Xinhua)
  30. ↑ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ghofWsw6596hiWFv-WS4u6L84TGAD98RLUG80
  31. ↑ Yan (June 18, 2009). "China, Russia sign five-point joint statement". Retrieved June 23, 2009. They also said that a new round of the IMF quota formula review and the reform schemes of the World Bank should be completed on time and that the emerging markets and developing countries should have a bigger say and broader representation in the international financial institutions.
  32. ↑ Culture Ministers of SCO Member States Meet in Beijing People's Daily
  33. ↑ SCO Culture Ministers to Meet in Tashkent Gazeta.kz
  34. ↑ Kazakhstan Backs Promotion of SCO Cultural Ties kazinform.kz
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO Website
  36. ↑ Joint Communiqué of Meeting of the Council of the Heads of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO Website
  37. ↑ SCO vows to strengthen cooperation with its observers, dialogue partners Xinhua
  38. ↑ http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-14-voa14.cfm
  39. ↑ SCO Heads of Government Council meets in Beijing
  40. ↑ "SCO Meeting Expected to Boost Cooperation Among Members". The Gazette of Central Asia (Satrapia). December 2, 2012.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Wu Jiao and Li Xiaokun (June 12, 2010). "SCO agrees deal to expand". China Daily. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  42. ↑ Journal of International Affairs. 2007. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Iran: A Power-full Union. Matthew Brummer http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/25069441/THE-SHANGHAI-COOPERATION-ORGANIZATION-AND-IRAN-A-POWERFULL-UNION
  43. ↑ http://armenianow.com/news/48402/armenia_shanghai_cooperation_prime_minister_tigran_sargsyan
  44. ↑ http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/sco-summit-may-allow-india-pakistan-to-become-regular-members_1465617.html
  45. ↑ http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/25830/53/
  46. ↑ "India's membership in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation initiated". The Economic Times. 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  47. ↑ "Azerbaijan asks to join a new alliance of China and Russia".
  48. ↑ Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – Towards New Dynamism – Mainstream Weekly
  49. ↑ India has right to join SCO, not Pakistan: Russian envoy – News
  50. ↑ "China welcomes proposed accession of India in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation". The Times Of India. May 23, 2012.
  51. ↑ "India applies for full membership of SCO". Business Standard. 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  52. ↑ Iran applies for membership Press TV
  53. ↑ http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/11/russia-endorses-full-sco-membership-for-pakistan/
  54. ↑ http://geo.tv/10-14-2009/50915.htm
  55. ↑ . Dawn News. 7 November, 2011.
  56. ↑ . Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan. 19 September, 2014.
  57. ↑ Regulations on the Status of Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Sri Lanka gains partnership in SCO members welcome end to terror in country
  59. ↑ The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation acquires military character Kommersant
  60. ↑ Bedi, Rahul (June 2, 2007). "Sri Lanka turns to Pakistan, China for military needs". IANS (Urdustan.com Network). Retrieved June 2, 2007.
  61. ↑ Galip Dalay (May 14, 2013). "Turkey between Shanghai and Brussels". The New Turkey. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  62. ↑ Tannock, Charles (February 18, 2008). "Backing Kazakhstan's 'great game'". London: Guardian Weekly.
  63. ↑ Fels, Enrico (2009), Assessing Eurasia's Powerhouse. An Inquiry into the Nature of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Winkler Verlag: Bochum, p. 23–27.
  64. ↑ Ahmadinejad stresses need for a new world order Press TV
  65. ↑ Anti-Western Alliance in Asia Deutsche Welle
  66. ↑ "Shanghai surprise" Guardian Unlimited
  67. ↑ Central Asia: China and Russia up the ante The Hindu
  68. ↑ Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summiteers Take Shots at US Presence in Central Asia Eurasianet
  69. ↑ Journal of International Affairs. 2007. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Iran: A Power-full Union. Matthew Brummer
  70. ↑ Tehran Times, November 20, 2008
  71. ↑ "The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation". July 13, 2005.
  72. ↑ UzReport, November 28, 2005
  73. ↑ People's Daily, July 8, 2008
  74. ↑ American Legion Magazine, March 1, 2010
  75. ↑ Maheen Mirza, Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO): A New Platform – TRCB, TRCB.com – Article Marketing for Massive Exposure and Reward, http://www.trcb.com/news-and-society/international/shanghai-corporation-organization-sco-a-new-platform-2531.htm (accessed April 7, 2010).
  76. ↑ Peter Finn, "Putin Threatens Ukraine on NATO – Russian Raises Issues of U.S. Missile Shield", washingtonpost.com, February 13, 2008, archives 2010.
  77. ↑ "Group Says SCO 'Vehicle' For Rights Abuses." RFE/RL, September 2, 2012.

Further reading

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