Some Interesting Articles on the SCO

There has been a plethora of articles written about the SCO since I went to Seattle. I've been busy cutting them down to ones that I think are rather interesting. Here are some. There might be more.

First off:

Intelligence Brief: Russia in the S.C.O.
Drafted By: Yevgeny Bendersky

The recent high-profile meeting of the heads of all the governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (S.C.O.), plus a delegation from the S.C.O. observer states, signaled a major new development in Eurasian politics. The maturing of the S.C.O. into a grouping akin to a geopolitical bloc has even been hailed as the "N.A.T.O. of the East" by some observers and policymakers. While this grouping of states has a long way to go before a true geopolitical bloc is formed along major economic, military and political lines, one of the key states in the S.C.O. will be the deciding factor in judging the success of this bold geopolitical venture.

Secondly, less on the SCO and more on Russia:

Putin Performs A European Pirouette
By Pavel K. Baev

A visit to the Netherlands on November 1-2 provided Russian President Vladimir Putin with a timely opportunity to re-establish his European credentials. The previous week had a distinct Asian flavor with the prime-ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow (Kommersant, October 27). It was all smiles and handshakes, but then events turned quarrelsome as the UN Security Council took up the Syrian issue. For Moscow, far more than just arms sales and debt repayment was at stake with Damascus, since a week prior to that debate it had felt obliged to condemn Iran for the appeal "to wipe Israel from the map" (Nezavisimaya gazeta, Lenta.ru, October 28). Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did his best to soften the resolution prepared jointly by the United States and France by threatening to veto it – and then joined the unanimous vote for a seriously watered down document (Kommersant, November 1). Tehran was thus assured that it could count on Russian support in the forthcoming discussions in the IAEA, but after a diplomatic "victory" of this sort it was quite necessary for Putin to show his Western face.

No topic suits the purpose of fostering "togetherness" better than the common struggle against terrorism, and Putin exploited it to the fullest by asserting that Russia was defending not only its own but European interests as well in Chechnya and the Caucasus since, "If we would allow the terrorist to raise their heads in one place they would do it also in other places" (RIA-Novosti, November 2). He warned against showing any weakness in this struggle against "animals in the human form" and observed ironically that some European politicians showed so much concern for human rights as if they attempt to be "greater Muslims than the Prophet Mohammed" (Lenta.ru, November 2). Apparently, the Kremlin now is certain that Russia's place in the forefront of the confrontation with international terrorism is beyond question and also that – unlike some vacillating Westerners who are too soft on the enemy that seeks to abuse democratic norms – it has a winning strategy.

Thirdly:

Shanghai Cooperation Organization Eyes Economic, Security Cooperation
By Sergei Blagov

As top officials from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) gathered in Moscow on October 26, they reiterated earlier pledges to expand economic ties in Central Eurasia. The meeting also confirmed the SCO's ambitious goal of becoming a major global player.

Prime ministers from member states Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, as well as top officials from observer states, including Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, attended the SCO meeting in Moscow. The officials inked agreements on strategies for responding to emergency situations and on inter-bank cooperation; they also approved the SCO budget for 2006.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov hailed the SCO "road map," a blueprint for expanding multilateral trade and economic ties (Itar-Tass, October 26). The Inter-bank SCO Council was created to fund future joint projects, although no details of the planned ventures were released at the meeting. However, SCO Executive Secretary Zhang Deguan said the SCO would prioritize joint energy projects, including the expanding oil and gas sector, exploration of new hydrocarbon reserves, and joint use of water resources.

Meanwhile, bilateral economic ties between Russia and China are emerging as the core of a future SCO development. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao reportedly agreed that bilateral trade turnover might exceed $28 billion this year. "I hope this happens," Putin said.

Wen said China prioritizes bilateral relations with Russia. The two countries have started strategic security consultations, approved a border agreement, and held a joint military exercise. Furthermore, Wen suggested boosting ties with the SCO and another Russia-dominated post-Soviet grouping, the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC). He also pledged to further expand China's program of export loans to SCO states, which is currently estimated at $900 million (Interfax, RIA-Novosti, Xinhua, October 26-27).

However, the SCO is understood to be mulling ambitious global goals, well beyond plans for expanding economic ties. "The SCO has gone beyond the framework of its initially stated goals," Putin said when greeting the SCO prime ministers at the Kremlin. He reiterated that the combined population of the SCO member states and observer countries exceeds 3 billion people. Therefore the SCO leaders are in a unique position to work out decisions that affect the majority of the global population. "It is a significant factor of global politics," Putin said (RIA-Novosti, Interfax, October 26).

Read, ponder, and always, always take with a grain of salt.

If all is read correctly, it seems that the Iraq War as provided Putin et al with a good reason to unite nations together. They are outright saying the the SCO is not to oppose the US, but when you get two of the bigger kids on the block to band together and start making snarky comments about the biggest kid hanging out in their neighborhood, you have to wonder.

Additionally, you have to wonder if it might not be possible that the SCO might evolve in its own way into either a NATO and/or EU. Very interesting times. Too bad the US was unable to prevent it happening. Then again, Shrubbish is not noted for deft diplomacy.