Saturday 25 June 2016 - 15:13
Story Code : 220338
How Irans membership in SCO may work in interest of several key players
Some time ago it was difficult toimagine that Tehran would refuse tojoin the SCO. But times are changing and today inthe political, economic, scientific and expert circles ofIran there is a vast discussion going onregarding Irans membership inthe SCO.
The question ofIran's membership inthe SCO is nothing new. It was most actively discussed inthe country duringthe last convocation ofthe government inIran (2013). However, duringthe presidency ofHassan Rouhani situation has changed somewhat, Azizi told Sputnik.
He further said, At this moment, we need tounderstand why today key SCO members Russia and China have expressed interest inIran joining the organization. Since 2008, a serious barrier forIrans entry intothe SCO was the sanctions. The main requirement forSCO member states was that the potential candidate formembership should not be underinternational sanctions.
The expert said that it was not really a structural problem forthe organization butrather, the concern ofhaving toface a confrontation withthe West if Iran joins the SCO.
Perhaps it is forthis reason that the issue ofconsidering Iran's membership inthe SCO has been postponed, Azizi said.
According tothe expert inthe current conditions it is not only a matter ofachieving the Iranian nuclear program that has renewed consideration ofIran's membership intothe SCO. There are other prerequisites aswell.
Russia due totense relations withthe West post the Ukrainian question preferred tobuild and expand its relations withregional allies inthe East. We have seen how relations between Russia and China have expanded and how various bilateral relations withIran have gained special importance forMoscow, the expert noted.
Furthermore, overthe last 2-3 years relations betweenChina and the US have deteriorated due tothe South China Sea dispute. Therefore, insuch circumstances, China is forming alliances withregional key players.
According toAzizi, Pakistan was previously a strategic ally, butnow cooperation withIran can be much more profitable forChina. Generally, it can be said that the issue ofIran's membership inthe SCO is inthe interest ofseveral players.
Given the fact that Iran has very good bilateral relations withRussia and China, which are the key SCO players inthe economic, commercial, political, military and other fields, that were the priority forentry intothe SCO, butin the present circumstances it is no longer so relevant.
According tothe expert, Iran may well continue todevelop successful cooperation withMoscow and Beijing even withoutthe membership.
The director ofthe Research Center ofthe Eurasian Strategic Council inIran, Mahmoud Shoori, said that inthe foreseeable future talking aboutIran becoming a permanent member ofSCO is not feasible.
He said that Iran had applied forthe SCO membership a long time ago, back in2008. Unfortunately, upuntil now the Iranian application has not received a positive answer forseveral reasons.
In fact, one ofthe causes became a clause, which was established inthe charter ofthe organization. It said that those countries that are underthe UN sanctions cannot become full SCO members, Shoori explained.
However, Iran has viewed this clause asthe statute ofreluctance and lack ofinterest ofsome members ofthe SCO forTehran's accession intothe Union.
Now, even Tehran's interest is no longer seen asspecific and clearly defined. Iran ascompared topast years is not showing an active interest inbecoming a member ofthe SCO, according tothe director.
Given the fact that the adoption ofa new full member ofthe organization is solved byconsensus ofall the permanent members, not all the members seem towant Iran tobe a part ofthe SCO. I see that underthe present situation, the subject ofIran inthe SCO may be delayed, Shoori concluded.
By Sputnik
# Tags
