RUSSIA WANTS TO MAKE IRAN A MEMBER OF ASIAN POWER BLOC, THE SHANGHAI FIVE

[Arminkh]

Russia would support Iran joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an emerging economic and political alliance led by China, often considered a counterweight to Western alliance organizations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Iran fully fits the criteria for membership of the so-called Shanghai Five and said that discussions on its bid to join will happen this summer.

“Next in line [for membership]...is Iran, which has resolved issues related to sanctions from the U.N. Security Council,” Lavrov told Russian state news agency Itar-Tass. Iran has expressed a wish to become full member of group under both former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and current leader Hassan Rouhani and was given observer status in 2005, allowing it attend summits.

The country now “fully meets the criteria for membership,” Lavrov told journalists at the end of a meeting of the group’s foreign ministers, and added that the possibility of offering Iran a full place in the organization will be on the agenda in the upcoming meeting of the bloc in Kazakhstan in June.

The Shanghai Five is a alliance originally devised as a confidence-building forum between neighbors in Central Asia to cooperate in fighting radical insurgent groups and demilitarize borders.

Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are fully fledged members while India and Pakistan are in the process of becoming full members.

As well as the question of Iran’s joining the group, Lavrov said the summit in June would also cover more cooperation in education and forming joint efforts in fighting the illegal drugs trade, plus the vaguely defined effort to crack down on “extremist ideology.”

The policy aims of the bloc, particularly in military cooperation, have so far been limited. However, the group notably rejected the U.S. from gaining observer status in 2004, reinforcing the impression that its goal is to exist in opposition to Western political and military alliances.

In November Turkey, a member of NATO, hinted that it could seek membership of the Shanghai group. President Recip Tayyip Erdogan suggested Turkey could join the Shanghai Five instead of being “fixated” on joining the European Union, after European allies were critical of the worsening state of civil liberties in the country.

 

[Fledgingwings]

This if happens will help Iran to come out further off the global isoaltion caused by USA backed UN sanctions.

 

[Arminkh]

This if happens will help Iran to come out further off the global isoaltion caused by USA backed UN sanctions.

I think that's the exact intention.

 

[BHarwana]

Russia wants Iran to receive full membership in a geopolitical organization designed as a partial counterweight to NATO and other western pacts, a move that would likely deepen the economic and military ties between the two governments.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for Iran's speedy accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a group of Central Asian states dominated by Russia and China that fosters military and economic cooperation between the members. He issued the call within days of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaling a desire to impose sanctions that former President Barack Obama lifted under the terms of the recently-negotiated nuclear deal.

"Iran has settled the problem of the UN Security Council sanctions and hence fully meets the SCO membership criteria," Lavrov said. "We hope that during their June summit in Astana the heads of our states will be able to discuss the possibility of launching the procedure for admitting Iran into the organization as a full member."

That would give Iran formal ties to Russia and China, the two leading powers in an organization often regarded as "a counterbalance to the Western-dominated international institutions that have held sway since the end of the Second World War," as Newsweek put it. SCO nations cooperate militarily and economically, although the organization doesn't guarantee mutual defense the way NATO does.

The economic appeal of the group is growing with the accession of India and Pakistan. "The SCO will account for 43 percent of the world's population and 24 per cent of global GDP," as Lavrov noted.

Membership of such a league would have political and military benefits for Iran. "Iran has been angling for quite awhile to get into the SCO just for the benefits of being closer to what it calls, in its parlance, the eastern powers — China and Russia," Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Washington Examiner. "Iran has expressed interest in joining them because it sees these guys as a natural counterweight to American and the west, American counterweight and hard power and its Iran saying, 'you want to divest us of western markets, then we can go east."

Those relationships will be especially valuable to Iran when bans on conventional weapons and ballistic missile sales expire in 2020 and 2023, respectively. "Russia and China will likely be the two biggest arms markets for Iran," Taleblu said. "The SCO process would provide a much broader international cover for these arms relationships."

The timing of Lavrov's statement underscores how Iran can factor into disagreements between Russia and the United States. President Trump's team announced days earlier a new effort to punish Iran for supporting terrorist groups and other destabilizing moves, a crackdown that might include walking away from the deal and reimposing economic sanctions that were lifted through the nuclear deal. "The Trump administration has no intention of passing the buck to a future administration on Iran," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday.


http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/r...p-in-nato-counterweight-group/article/2620925

 

[BHarwana]

@mohammad45 @100 Any comments.

 

[garshasp]

They've been saying this for over 10 years, its all games. Never trust the Russians.

 

[Providence]

Iran has been chewed out by Russians more times than US had threatened them. That there is a brutal truth

 

[Cthulhu]

This is the exact same thing that they said 8 years ago, if this happens i officially change my name to Mr. idiot.

 

[Kambojaric]

Would be great if Iran joins. Although officially it is not a counterweight to the NATO, but gradually it can be turned into one, and god knows the world needs checks and balances. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO has had a free ride invading whichever country it wants. Iran too was one of the countries potentially on the "invasion" list.

 

[Śakra]

India (if accepted before hand) will most likely veto it (along with other countries). Trump is moving his cards into place against iran. You will see that no other country will risk ties with USA and Europe for the sake of iran.

 

[haman10]

India (if accepted before hand) will most likely veto it (along with other countries). Trump is moving his cards into place against iran. You will see that no other country will risk ties with USA and Europe for the sake of iran.

Thanks for your meaningless input

 

[shjliu]

This is the exact same thing that they said 8 years ago, if this happens i officially change my name to Mr. idiot.

change name is small price to pay, if it happens!

 

[Navigator]

According Reuters, Russia trying promote Iran in SCO in last year yet, but this move was rejected by China

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a China-led security bloc, refused to initiate Iran's accession on Thursday despite a request from Russia which backs Tehran's bid, indicating possible divisions between Beijing and Moscow.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uzbekistan-sco-idUKKCN0Z9214

 

[Muhammed45]

@mohammad45 @100 Any comments.

Russia always supports Iran's membership in "Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit" but what i understand from Chinese stance in this issue, they are not interested.
haha in Shanghai, China is the boss ,so it depends on Chinese leadership. If you ask me bro, i like to see Iran becomes a member of that economical group but if China resists, no way and we have to work with European a**holes .