... of dismantling the former West-centered architecture of international security, the SCO may well emerge as a platform for consolidation of non-Western forces
In early... ... more about protecting its member states from the growing terrorist threat posed by Afghanistan at the initial stage, the Afghan track now remains an important, but not... ... functionality means that one cannot always see a clear boundary between the SCO and the CSTO, especially since a number of countries, including Russia, are members of both...
... must be fought on multiple fronts. Russia's drug policy needs to involve a wider concept of security that not only encompasses the threat to national security, but also the human and social threat of drugs. Intense cooperation with Central Asia and Afghanistan through the SCO and CSTO is essential, as is strict border policing and law enforcement. Nonetheless, this no-tolerance policy for the supply side of the drug trade needs to be complemented with a softer approach for the demand side at home. To dwell on the social and economic ...
... SCO-based cooperation, military-technical assistance to former Soviet republics via the CSTO, and interaction with Western forces in Afghanistan in order to ensure a effective response to extremist provocation and to prevent terrorism spreading beyond Afghanistan’s borders. Moreover, the SCO and CSTO would only gain from making a joint statement on cooperation and assistance to Afghanistan. Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan enjoy membership in both organizations, which makes cooperation on Afghanistan much easier through the joint ...