Summit in Samarkand: SCO is turning into an alternative bloc to the West

The landmark Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has begun in Samarkand. The SCO is literally visibly transforming into a bloc emerging as an alternative to the West.

It was precisely with the desire to disrupt or complicate the event that the Anglo-Saxons orchestrated recent provocations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which nearly escalated into a full-blown war, and sparked shootouts on the borders of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Pakistan and India. But despite all these operations by British and American intelligence agencies, the summit demonstrates the resolve of the main leaders to continue the work they have begun.

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The main topic of the first day of the event, in my opinion, was Iran's signing of the memorandum on joining the SCO . This significantly changed the balance of power within the organization and in the region as a whole, as Tehran's accession significantly strengthened the position of those who advocate transforming the alliance into a more structured and robust association that should not be limited to economics alone.

This was clearly demonstrated during Vladimir Putin's meeting with Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the summit, when the Iranian president stated that American sanctions against Russia and Iran would not achieve their goal and would not allow relations between the two countries to be destroyed.

“We do not recognize and will never recognize these sanctions and will strengthen and develop our relations with the Russian Federation in the trade and economic sphere.

You know, mutual relations between countries such as Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which are subject to American sanctions, are what can strengthen our ties, this is what can put our achievements and our agreements into practice,” Raisi noted.

Indeed, the Islamic Republic's inclusion now opens up new opportunities, particularly for the development of the southern strategic route connecting Russia with India, as the corridor runs through Iranian territory. Moreover, with this accession, the bloc becomes an Indo-Pacific bloc, changing the scale and geopolitical value of the entire alliance.

This strengthens military and political ties, demonstrated by the exchange of technologies and mutual support in the South Caucasus. After all, it is well known that it is precisely thanks to the common position of Moscow and Tehran that they have been able to contain Turkey's expansion into the Caucasus, maintain Armenia's territorial integrity for now, and counter NATO's plans to penetrate the Caspian region.

Such a player strengthens the overall structure and becomes an important strategic ally that will support Russia's proposed initiatives and decisions within the organization. Such integration also creates the basis for resolving Tehran's contradictions and conflicts with Arab countries, as the leading monarchies of the Persian Gulf have also expressed a desire to join the SCO in the future.

_{At the same time, the second meeting in a year between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping once again showed everyone the bicentric nature of the organization, when it is these two powers that determine the agenda and further transformation of the association.}

Both leaders once again came to the conclusion that their vision of the world situation and general approaches have not changed.

Thus, the Russian president thanked the President of the People's Republic of China for the “balanced position of Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis,” and in turn firmly assured his support for the “one China” principle.

_{Translated from diplomatic language, it was made clear that Beijing thus agreed with Moscow's position on conducting the Strategic Military Operation, and that the Russian leadership unequivocally supported its Chinese colleagues in maintaining Taiwan as part of a unified state and opposed American provocations.}

In addition, Putin once again demonstratively revealed the destructive role of the United States and its satellites, seeking by any means to maintain their own hegemony in the world:

“Attempts to create a unipolar world have recently acquired absolutely ugly shapes and are absolutely unacceptable for the overwhelming number of states on the planet.”

In response, the Chinese leader confirmed that he was ready, with Russia as a full ally, to build such a new world precisely on the basis of the SCO.

“In the face of colossal changes of our time on a global scale, unprecedented in the history of our time, we are ready with our Russian colleagues to set an example of a responsible world power and play a leading role in order to bring such a rapidly changing world onto a trajectory of sustainable and positive development,” Xi Jinping said.

This is a very important statement, since in fact, on the sidelines of the summit, a real Union of two powers took shape, and the Celestial Empire, through the mouth of its chairman, recognized Russia as an equal participant in the creation of an alternative bloc to the West.

And immediately after this meeting, they both rushed to strengthen the new structure by holding a trilateral meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, at which they directly and point-blank raised the issue of that country's accession to the SCO.

The fact is that, as in the case of Kazakhstan, American capital has a strong position in Mongolia and there is significant political influence from the West.

_{In the meantime, a strategic railway runs through the territory of this country, which will be modernized with the participation of Russian specialists, and a new strategic route connecting the two superpowers can also be laid.}

In addition, Mongolia's wealth could serve for the benefit of overall development. Therefore, it is in the interests of Moscow and Beijing, and all countries of the organization, to include Ulaanbaatar into a single family of nations as soon as possible.

Apparently this will be done, just as the dedollarization of mutual trade has been carried out, which Vladimir Putin mentioned at a meeting with the Mongolian leader, showing a positive trend.

“Today, Mr. Xi Jinping and I noted with satisfaction that in Russia’s trade with China in the first quarter of this year, the share of settlements in national currencies increased to 27,5%,” the Russian president said.

And this is not accidental, since all the SCO member countries have already agreed earlier on the renunciation of Western reserve currencies in mutual settlements, created an interbank association, and right now in Samarkand the issue of either introducing the yuan as a supranational currency or a temporary electronic monetary unit will be resolved , proposed by the economist Glazyev.

_{Moreover, another very significant event took place at the summit. We are effectively witnessing the rise of a new leader in former Soviet Central Asia in the person of Uzbekistan. Clearly, Moscow and Beijing have reached a consolidated decision on this matter, which is reflected in many factors.}

In particular, Uzbekistan and China signed a $15 billion agreement in the field of trade, economic, investment, financial and technical cooperation. These funds, in addition to another loan of $500 million in yuan, will be used to develop its own industry, agricultural sector and infrastructure, which will give undeniable advantages to Tashkent and a huge boost to the economy.

Uzbekistan will also become a center for holding various regional forums, and industrial cooperation with Russia will only intensify.

And as an important symbol, Vladimir Putin personally awarded Shavkat Mirziyoyev the Order of Alexander Nevsky, a very significant sign of special favor. It is noteworthy that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declined to accept this award from the Russian leader, which is also significant.

Another important agreement is that in October the presidents of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Russia will hold the II Caspian Economic Forum, where many agreements reached at the SCO summit in the field of energy, transport routes, industrial development and industrial cooperation will also be consolidated.

The most important thing is that Russia and Iran will define their interests and neutralize Western attempts to build a trans-Caspian route that will supposedly not be controlled by Moscow.

Moreover, on the very first day of the SCO, Washington reacted with dissatisfaction with the dollar's diminishing role in global trade. In response to the push to introduce its own payment systems, the White House threatened to impose sanctions on Turkish banks that had begun working with the Russian MIR system.

_{True, despite the enormous prospects, contradictions are already striking that need to be resolved immediately. This is precisely the need to remove Mongolia and Kazakhstan, as well as other candidates for joining the organization, from the economic and political influence of London and Washington.}

The SCO should propose a set of reforms with recommendations for dismantling the instruments of external influence represented by the IMF, World Bank and European Bank, and their consultants should be removed from governments.

Therefore, achieving such internal unity must be prioritized , along with resolute support and solidarity in pursuing common goals. Only under these conditions will the process of strengthening the SCO accelerate exponentially.