RASC News Agency: Bakhtiyar Hakimov, Russia’s representative to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), recently stated that it is currently not possible to discuss Afghanistan’s accession to this organization under Taliban rule. According to the TASS news agency, Bakhtiyar Hakimov, representing Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia in the SCO, raised this issue at a press conference in Moscow.
Reports published on Thursday, Mar 14, indicate that Hakimov said Afghanistan had submitted its request to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2015, “but it is clear that we cannot discuss this matter at present.” Afghanistan is considered an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the previous Afghanistan government had requested to become a permanent member of the organization.
Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, and Iran are among the SCO’s permanent members. Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the organization has repeatedly emphasized the need for the formation of a comprehensive government in Afghanistan under the control of this group in its statements.
