SCO Deputy Secretary General: Shanghai Co-operation Organisation never been and will never be military alliance
The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation has never been and will never be a military alliance – as stated by SCO Deputy Secretary General Oleg Kopylov in his talk with the First News Channel, sb.by reports
There is not always an unambiguous reaction to co-operation within the SCO in the world, particularly in Western countries, and some even claim that they fear the organisation will turn into a military alliance as a counterweight to NATO.
"We always react calmly to this, and do not tire of delicately advising those who see some military attributes in our organisation to read our charter and other statutory documents,” Mr. Kopylov noted. “Everything is perfectly clearly written there. In particular, the organisation does not have any military attributes, there are no supranational bodies in the form of a common command, or any joint military contingents. Only anti-terrorist, anti-drug exercises are held. Actually, the organisation has never been and will never be a military alliance. It is necessary to read the statutory documents and not engage in speculation in this regard.”
The Deputy Secretary General stressed that the SCO does not pose a military threat to anyone, “If we turn to history and the Shanghai Five, which later grew into six states and beyond, we can see that the original idea was to strengthen border security, neutralise border and conflict risks. I would like to emphasise once again: this is not a military organisation. Everything was done by political methods, through consultations. The SCO cannot pose any military threat to anyone. This is a myth.”
