Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Iran wants to be full member of SCO

As soon as Iran formally becomes an SCO member Chinese and Russian troops and/or weapons can ‘legally’ help Iran.
#msg-7484614

He said the SCO was a political organization, not a military bloc, but added that the possibility of it using a peacekeeping force some time in the future could not be completely ruled out. At this point, however, the SCO members see no immediate need for mobilizing their peacekeepers and continue to use the alliance as a forum for discussing problems of security in Central Asia, he said.
#msg-6853488

-Am


Iran wants to be full member of Shanghai org.

Saturday, April 15, 2006 - ©2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, April 15 (IranMania) - Tehran wants to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), at which it currently has observer status, a senior Iranian diplomat said in Moscow.

"Iran and India are observers in this organisation but it is possible that they will become full members this summer," Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted Manouchehr Mohammadi as telling students at the Russian foreign ministry's school of diplomacy.

"This will allow the SCO to become a stronger grouping. It currently has two key members, Russia and China. But we believe it should include Iran and India to have four," he added.

The SCO was founded in 1996 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as a vehicle for inter-governmental cooperation in central Asia.

It admitted Uzbekistan as a sixth member in 2001 and has also given Pakistan observer status.

Some observers believe the SCO is meant to serve as a counterbalance to the United States and US military power.

Mohammadi was visiting Moscow as part of preparations for a meeting of diplomacy chiefs from the world's eight most industrialised nations on Tuesday, which will focus on the Iranian nuclear crisis.



http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=42009&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs