Sergei Shoigu: SCO waits for Belarus to join organisation in near future
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is expected Belarus to join the SCO very soon, said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
‘It is encouraging to see that the participation in our Meeting continues to expand. We welcome the admission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and expect Belarus to become a new member in the near future,’ said Sergei Shoigu at the meeting of the SCO defence ministers on Friday.
They Russian Defence Minister is confident that ‘this is an important moment in strengthening security in the SCO zone, which will give added impetus to joint work of the defence departments of the organisation’.
Sergei Shoigu: U.S. first create conflict in Ukraine, and now purposefully prolong it
The conflict in Ukraine is created by Washington, D.C., today the U.S. is deliberately prolonging it, this demonstrates the West’s desire to maintain global dominance by any means necessary, and to impose its dictates on independent countries, said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
‘The U.S. first created and now purposefully prolong the conflict in Ukraine’, said Sergei Shoigu at the meeting of the SCO defence ministers on Friday.
He noted that the Russian side share the assessments made during the meeting about the current international situation, which ‘remains difficult and tends to get worse’.
‘The geopolitical divisions are breaking up, the basics of strategic stability are being destroyed, the role of international institutions is being reduced. This is mainly due to the desire of the United States and its allies to maintain global dominance by all means and to impose their dictates on independent countries,’ said the Russian Defence Minister.
‘To achieve its goals, Washington is putting unprecedented pressure on its partners, including by delegating them the role of obedient performers,’ said Sergei Shoigu. According to Sergei Shoigu, there are many examples of U.S. interference in the affairs of sovereign states, including with the change of unfavourable regimes. ‘These countries are Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria,’ said the head of the military department.
‘Financial, political-diplomatic, and in some cases also forceful methods are widely used as tools of influence,’ continued Shoigu. A repeatedly practised reception is used: to fuel and maintain hotbeds of instability in various regions of the world, to create security threats with the simultaneous offer of military assistance to neutralise them’.
Sergei Shoigu: NATO troops create additional threats to military security near borders of Russian Federation
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that the NATO troops that were standing close to the Russian borders created additional threats to military security.
‘The NATO alliance’s troops approached the Russian borders and created additional threats to military security. I want to emphasise that it was not us, but they came to us. This once again shows that it is impossible to believe the Western countries. Now we are accused that if Russia does not stop in Ukraine, then we are supposed to attack the countries of the NATO alliance’, said Shoigu on Friday at the meeting of the SCO defence ministers in Astana.
He noted that Russia ‘presents to the policy of non-interference in the affairs of other states’.
‘In addition,’ said Shoigu, ‘after the Soviet Union’s break-up, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation continues to expand to the east, even though we were promised that this will not happen in the 1990s. At the same time, six waves of NATO expansion have passed since 1999’.
Sergei Shoigu: Russia has neither geopolitical nor military interests to attack NATO countries
Russia has no and has never planned to attack the NATO countries. Today, during the special military operation, the Russian Federation is simply protecting the interests of its people on historical grounds.
‘The Russian Federation has never threatened NATO. We have no geopolitical or military interests in attacking the NATO states. We are just protecting our people in our historical territories’, said Sergei Shoigu during the meeting of the SCO defence ministers in Astana.
He stressed that the Russian Federation has always made ‘the maximum of efforts to maintain strategic stability and a balance of forces around the world’.
Sergei Shoigu: Western military specialists directly participate in planning of sabotage actions on Russian territory
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that foreign advisers are directly involved in the preparation of sabotage operations carried out by Kiev on Russian territory.
‘Planning and training of sabotage actions are carried out with the direct participation of advisers, including on the territory of Russia. On almost daily basis, with the tacit consent of the West, Kiev uses the weapons it receives from the Western countries to damage the civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation,’ said Sergei Shoigu at a meeting of defence ministers of the SCO member states on Friday.
According to the Russian Defence Minister, ‘While demonstrating an allegedly desire for de-escalation, the collective West continues to infuse Kiev with weapons the uncontrolled movement of which creates risks of its becoming a target of terrorist organisations’.
‘Reconnaissance data are transmitted in real time, training of Ukrainian servicemen is organised, Western military specialists and mercenaries are in the zone of combat operations’, said the Russian Defence Minister.
Sergei Shoigu: AFU strikes on Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant can lead to catastrophe
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant could have catastrophic consequences.
‘The continuous strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the Nuclear Power Plant are extremely disturbing, which may have catastrophic consequences,’ said Sergei Shoigu at the meeting of the ministers of defence of the SCO member countries on Friday.
He also noted that ‘the trail of the terrorist act committed on 22 March in the concert room of the Crocus City Hall also leads to Ukraine’.
‘It is only a matter of time before the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation states that all those responsible for these illegal acts and atrocities will definitely receive the necessary punishment.’
Sergei Shoigu: Russian Armed Forces achieve all objectives of special military operation in Ukraine
Western attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia are doomed to failure, all the goals of the special military operation will be achieved, said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at a meeting of defence ministers of the SCO member states on Friday.
‘The Russian Armed Forces continue to effectively carry out the missions the special military operation.- All its objectives will be achieved’, said Sergei Shoigu.
He noted that on the basis of the experience gained, the combat actions of the Russian troops are optimised, the country’s defence industry complex is being developed, the system of training of military personnel is being improved, the skills acquired are being improved around operational and combat training activities.
‘It is therefore impossible for any attempt by the West to inflict strategic defeat on us’ said the Russian Defence Minister.
Sergei Shoigu: NATO and EU confrontational course towards Russia has negative impact on SCO countries area
The NATO’s and the European Union’s course on intensifying relations with Russia has a negative impact on the situation in the responsibility area of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at a meeting of the SCO defence ministers on Friday.
‘I would like to point out that the confrontational course of the NATO and the European Union towards the Russian Federation and our partners has a negative impact on the situation in the SCO area and around the world,’ Sergei Shoigu said.
According to Sergei Shoigu, ‘in the Central Asian region, the main threat still comes from the radical terrorist groups located on the territory of Afghanistan’.
‘The situation in this country is complex and a source of terrorism and extremism proliferation’, said the Russian Defence Minister.
He stressed that ‘Washington intensified efforts to restore its Central and South Asian positions lost after the withdrawal of coalition troops from the former Islamic Republic’.
‘I believe,’ said Sergei Shoigu, ‘that all those present share the view that it is unacceptable to accommodate the military infrastructure of the United States of America and its allies in the region.
These kind of intentions must be considered a direct threat to stability in the SCO area’.
Sergei Shoigu: Criticism by West of Iran shows dual standards of assessing right of countries to self-defence
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke of the West’s double standards regarding the exercise of the right of self-defence by states.
‘We must mention the double standards of the West when it comes to the exercise of the vital right to self-defence’, said Sergei Shoigu at the meeting of the SCO defence ministers on Friday.
As an example, the Russian Minister cited Iran’s retaliatory operation ‘in response to the blatant attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus.’
‘The result of this kid of a policy was the non-action of the UN Security Council, which was unable to make the relevant decisions. The Russian side has repeatedly warned that the unsettledness of crises in the Middle East and irresponsible provocations will increase tensions. We call on all the parties involved to exercise restraint and solve problems by political and diplomatic means’, said the Russian Defence Minister.
Sergei Shoigu: U.S. try to transform security system in Asia-Pacific Region from ASEAN-sentrimic to U.S.-led
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that U.S.-based military-political structures are trying to revamp the Asia-Pacific Region security system to dominate this part of the world.
‘As for the Asia-Pacific Region, there are also planned attempts to re-formatise the regional security system from the ASEAN-sentrimic one to the American one. This is done by strengthening Washington-based military-political structures such as QUAD, AUKUS, and the Triangle Union,’ said Sergei Shoigu, speaking at the meeting of the SCO defence ministers on Friday.
He noted, however, that the ‘Taiwan factor’ is actively being used to increase pressure on China.
‘In addition, the return to the South-East Asia of radical Islamists from the Middle East and North Africa creates preconditions for the establishment of new hotbeds in the medium run. In the emerging geopolitical conditions, forming a universal continental security architecture in Eurasia becomes an important task of the SCO. Naturally, while preserving the central role of the United Nations and being committed to its Charter.’
According to the Russian Defence Minister, ‘it will be facilitated by the convergence or proximity of the SCO member States’s approaches to key international issues and the establishment of a new world order.’
Sergei Shoigu calls for ensuring resilience of SCO to destructive external threats and crises
The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation should ensure the resilience of the formation to destructive outside forces, including attempts to provoked colour revolutions in the SCO countries, said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
‘It is necessary to ensure the organisation’s resilience to attempts to undermine its cohesion, to provoked ‘colour revolutions’ and crises in the member states. We need to jointly counter the desire of Russian allies to destroy long-standing ties between the SCO countries, ensure an optimal consideration of the national interests of each member state, and continue the course of further rapprochement’, said Sergei Shoigu, speaking at the meeting of the SCO defence ministers on Friday.
‘It seems logical, in this context, to combine the organisation’s potential with that of other international security structures on our continent’.
‘More emphasis needs to be placed on developing contacts along the military line between the SCO and the CSTO,’ stated Sergei Shoigu.
Another task the Minister called it was ‘to strengthen the role of the SCO as one of the strongholds of the new multipolar international system, as well as a model of interstate relations based on equality and mutual respect.
‘The key element of this work remains the implementation of the agreements reached by the heads of the states members of the organisation’, said the Russian Defence Minister.
He also noted that ‘military cooperation has a special place in interstate relations in the format of the SCO’.
Therefore, emphasis should be placed on close interaction within the defence departments, developing a stable information exchange to respond timely to terrorist and other potential threats, said Sergei Shoigu.
The Russian Minister said that ‘in this regard, joint operational and combat training activities are of particular importance’.
‘We need to expand the geography and topics of joint exercises, strengthen their information coverage and improve the training of the units involved. During these events, we are ready to share our experience and best practice in conducting combat operations,’ said the Russian Defence Minister.
Sergei Shoigu proposed that representatives of other regional groupings, particularly the CSTO and CIS, as well as friendly countries, be invited to participate in activities of the defence departments of the SCO – especially for operational and combat training – so that they may participate in the event.
‘We believe,’ stated Sergei Shoigu, ‘that the implementation of these proposals will ensure the further development of the SCO and the maintenance of stability in the organisation’s area.
At the end of the statement, he expressed confidence that today’s meeting of the ministers of defence of the SCO member countries would contribute to further deepening ties between the defence agencies of the states and strengthening security.
🤝Russian and Kyrgyzstan’s defence ministers sign agreements on information exchange and cooperation in field of nuclear, biological and chemical protection in Astana
Two interdepartmental agreements have been signed on the basis of the results of the meeting: on information exchange and on cooperation in the detection and assessment of the radiation, chemical and biological situation.
During the talks, Sergei Shoigu and Baktybek Bekbolotov discussed topical issues of cooperation in the military sphere and also outlined prospects for further cooperation.
Iran Meeting:
🇷🇺🇮🇷Sergei Shoigu: Russian-Iranian contacts between leaderships of military departments increase significantly
Contacts between Moscow and Tehran at the highest level and through the leadership of military departments have multiplied amid threats to the security of the two states, said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
‘The joint fight against international terrorism in Syria is a vivid example of our long-standing friendly relations. Recently, they have acquired a particularly trusting character and are successfully developing. The intensity of contacts has increased significantly, both at the highest level and at the level of the leadership of military departments,’ said Sergei Shoigu during a working meeting with the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Ashtiani in Astana on Friday.
According to Sergei Shoigu, ‘the cooperation between Russia and Iran has always been dynamic and multifaceted.’
‘The current military-political situation and threats to our states oblige us to do this, as well as common approaches to building a just world order based on equality of all participants in the international community,’ said the Russian Defence Minister.
‘We confirm our readiness for further development and expansion of mutually beneficial military and military-technical cooperation. We will pay special attention to this,’ said the Russian Minister of Defence.
🇷🇺🇮🇷 Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics of Islamic Republic of Iran: Relations with Russia reach new level
Relations between Moscow and Tehran are reaching a new level, said Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Ashtiani.‘
Our relations are only developing and expanding, reaching a new level,’ said Mohammad Ashtiani at talks with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Astana on Friday.
He expressed gratitude to the Russian Defence Minister for Iran’s support at the time of the attack on the Republic’s embassy in the Syrian capital and Tehran’s response to this attack.
‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your fair, honest position towards the Islamic Republic of Iran for your support at the time of the attack on our consulate in Damascus, as well as for your balanced reaction to our proportionate response,’ said Mohammad Ashtiani.
He thanked his Russian counterpart for the position expressed at the general meeting of the defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member countries, which was held earlier in Astana on Friday.
WtR