Though the final agreement on Iran's nuclear program is yet to be reached, the recent Vienna talks have contributed to Tehran's partnership with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.MOSCOW, November 26 (Sputnik) Iran's role withinthe Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) grows asthe West moves closer tolifting the sanctions againstthe country, and asTehran becomes more involved inthe international processes, a Russian SCO official told Sputnik news agency onWednesday.
"Iran is being included asan almost full-scale member interms ofeconomic cooperation inthe SCO. The SCO members' influence on [Iran] is getting stronger, and it [Iran] becomes a partner that has towork withinthe organization, too. If previously it used tobe isolated because ofthe sanctions, and could only act only byitself, now it is being involved more and more inthe international process," said Sergei Kanavsky, executive secretary ofthe SCO Business Council.
The six-nation group onIran, P5+1 (Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France and Germany) and Iran, failed toreach a comprehensive deal onthe Middle Eastern country's nuclear program inVienna onMonday and prolonged the talks untilJuly 2015.
The European Union has extended the suspension ofcertain sanctions againstIran overits nuclear program untilJune 2015, European Council onForeign Relations said ina statement onTuesday. The easing ofsanctions allows Tehran toengage insome international oil trade.
"We [SCO] have a slightly different scheme ofcooperation withIran thanthe P5+1 group. In our case, Iran can fully cooperate withthe SCO economically, including inKazakhstan, where a free economic zone will be created atthe border and mostly aimed atIran," Kanavsky said.
Founded in2001, the SCO has six permanent members China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran has observer-state status, asdo Afghanistan, India, Mongolia and Pakistan. Observer states may be considered forfull membership atthe next SCO meeting inAstana onDecember 14-15, 2014.
"It shows that the SCO is growing indemand, which is expanding its possibilities, its powers and the ability tohave influence not only inthe SCO region, which is currently made upof 14 countries, butbeyond the SCO, aswell," Kanavsky said.
In 2006, the UN Security Council, aswell asthe United States, the European Union and several other countries, imposedsanctions onTehranafterit refused tosuspend its uranium enrichment program, which the West suspected was aimed atmaking nuclear weapons.
EU sanctions ban the import and export ofarms, financial transactions withTehran, investment inIran's petrochemical industry, insurance foroil tankers and the trade ofprecious metals.
A year ago, the P5+1 group and Iran signed an agreement inGeneva, which called forTehran tolimit its uranium enrichment tofive percent, slow the development ofits nuclear program and allow inspections bythe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inexchange forthe partial lifting ofWestern sanctions.
By Sputnik News
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