The virtual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which was hosted by India on July 4, brought the focus onto geopolitical tectonic shifts, global threats and new opportunities for Eurasian powers.
"The world is moving toward multilateralism and we find that the UN, which is the largest grouping of countries, is becoming ineffective and highly politicized by the West," Indian military veteran Ret. Major General Shashi Bhushan Asthana told Sputnik, commenting on the recent summit.
"Therefore, all over the world, the other groupings are coming up and taking a major load off the UN, and in that context, SCO has become an important forum with 40% of the global population and 20 percent of the world's GDP."
"It is an important grouping where you have China, Russia - two P5 members [P5 are five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – Sputnik], India another important member, and other players of Asia. Earlier, most groupings, whether it is the United Nations which came out of the Atlantic Charter or NATO, all these platforms were Western-oriented. SCO, on the other hand, is an Asian-oriented bloc, and in an era of multilateralism, it has provided a little bit of balance," he continued.
SCO's Expansion: Iran Joins the Club, More to Come
On July 4, the SCO held its 23rd summit with the participation of the entity's eight permanent members, heads of the observer countries and the UN secretary-general. For the first time in the last six years, the organization welcomed a new member: Iran was officially admitted to the SCO. The last time the SCO expanded was in 2017, when India and Pakistan joined the Eurasian club.
The Islamic Republic signed a memorandum of commitment to obtain the status of SCO member at the September 2022 SCO meeting in Samarkand.
Iran is not the only country that has sought full-fledged membership in the organization. Belarus is reportedly due to obtain the status in 2024. In addition, multiple countries including Turkiye, Afghanistan, and Mongolia have expressed interest in joining the bloc.......more below
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The Empire of Chaos is relentless. Lawfare, destabilizations, sanctions, kidnappings, color revolutions, false flags, annexations: 2025 will be the year of BRICS – plus BRICS partners – as choice targets under fire.
Inestimable Prof. Michael Hudson coined “chaos” as official US policy. That’s bipartisan – and it runs across all silos of the Deep State.
In the absence of long-term strategic vision, and amidst the progressive imperial expulsion from Eurasia, all that’s left for the Hegemon is to unleash chaos from West Asia to Europe and parts of Latin America – a concerted attempt to Divide and Rule BRICS and thwart their collective drive affirming sovereignty and the primacy of national ...
While NATO may be yearning to take on Russia in the Arctic, many of its troops lack the necessary expertise for survival in such extreme conditions.
Although NATO forces regularly participate in drills in the region, many remain unprepared for the harsh realities of Arctic life.
Though NATO forces routinely participate in the bloc’s drills in the region, many of them are still not prepared to survive in the Arctic’s harsh conditions, The Sun reports citing Minna Alander, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
"Not all NATO allies have the capabilities that are needed and that work in the Arctic environment and climate,” Alander said.....more below
