Baku, Azerbaijan, July 13
Trend:
Azerbaijan would prefer to maintain the status of a dialogue partner with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the near future, rather than moving further along the path of integration into the organization, deputy director general of Trend news agency, political commentator Arzu Naghiyev told Vestnik Kavkaza agency.
The SCO was originally created to strengthen confidence in the military sphere between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with a special status, he said.
No matter how many times it is said that the SCO is not a military bloc, its main goal is safety, including the unification of the parties in combating terrorism, separatism, extremism and drug trafficking, the expert said.
In this situation, it is difficult to determine the benefit for Azerbaijani forces in this organization, according to the expert.
"As an observer or partner, our country may be present in the organization as a supporter in fighting terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking, and be engaged in expansion of markets for their resources, or in searching for solutions of problems in economic terms," he said.
"Let me remind you that China wants to create a common space in the near future and Azerbaijan has very different plans and prospects," Arzu Naghiyev added.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a permanent intergovernmental organization founded on June 15, 2001 by the leaders of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.