Opinion

SCO finds its position: Russian official

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-09 15:08

MOSCOW -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has more and more found its position in international affairs and all member states are optimistic about its future, a senior Russian official says.

Leonid Moiseev, special representative for President Dmitry Medvedev on SCO affairs, made the comments in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the annual SCO summit to be held in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent on June 9-11.

"All member states have optimistic forecasts, ... we understand that SCO will never be a military bloc, nor a pure economic union, " Moiseev said.

Moiseev hailed the achievements the SCO reached in the regional security issues, saying the influence of the organization has been more and more recognized by the international community.

"Now SCO has been invited to every major international event devoted to the issues of Afghanistan, and we are ready to work with each side on the regional security issues," he said.

Refering to the Regional Anti-Terrorists Organization (RATS), Moiseev said it is the first SCO body working on the permanent basis, aimed at fighting terrorism and tackling other new challenges and threats.

"All member states should join hands in tackling the terrorism and drug trafficking. Drug trafficking has been a top topic for the organization in recent months," Moiseev said.

The SCO is currently working on building a database of terrorism suspects, cross-checking the lists of terrorists groups, training anti-terrorism personnel and organizing joint anti-terrorism drills, Moiseev said.

On the enlargement of the SCO, the Russian official said that during the summit last year, the member states agreed to draft a document to set standards for the accession of new members.

The document is prepared now, he said, adding "we will evaluate all the aspects concerning the expansion of the bloc and the results will be reported to the leaders at the next summit."

Moiseev also talked of some other aspects in which the SCO member states can make more cooperation including economy, disease control, disaster prevention and reduction, as well as rescue efforts.