Afghanistan and the SCO

By Vestnik Kavkaza

This year the USA is going to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The majority of experts believe that after this the situation in Central Asia could significantly worsen. However, Kirill Barsky, Special Presidential Envoy for SCO Affairs, ambassador-at-large, believes that the SCO is the most “comfortable” instrument for normalizing the situation in Afghanistan and the region.

“The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in the early 2000s as a reaction to the international and regional threat of terrorism, extremism and separatism to unite the efforts of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan against the threats. Therefore, for the SCO, Afghanistan is a geopolitical constant and a direct source of threats to the security of the countries and the region, as well as a friendly country, and all members of the SCO hope it will settle its problems as soon as possible. Of course, the SCO, as well as the CSTO, cannot ignore the Afghan problem. The SCO countries are interested in a resolution of the situation in Afghanistan as soon as possible,” Kirill Barsky says.

According to him, “from the very beginning the SCO stated that it is not ready to take responsibilities for providing security in Afghanistan, as it is not a military-political alliance or a military organization. Therefore, the SCO has no plans to replace the international presence in Afghanistan, replace the NATO countries in fulfilling their functions in Afghanistan. Improvement of the effectiveness of the struggle against terrorism, drug trafficking and so on is the main contribution which the SCO can make to a settlement of the situation in Afghanistan.”

The second important direction is providing political support for the Afghan government and the involvement of Afghanistan in the SCO's activity. “I mean not only security or the struggle against terrorism and drug trafficking. If the Western coalition prepares for its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the SCO is not leaving. The SCO is serious and for a long time. And the work on involving Afghanistan in the SCO's activity will be continued. That’s why the involvement of Afghanistan is so important in different directions, not only in the security sphere. For example, on December 6th Afghanistan signed a memorandum on establishing the Energy Club. The Afghans have always emphasized that they are very interested in economic cooperation with the SCO, which begins to be intensive. Our evaluation of the current level and prospects of regional development shows that the SCO is the most successful and comfortable platform for a wider agreement on approaches towards a settlement of the situation and for supporting Afghanistan.”