ASTANA, July 4. /TASS/. Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) believe that the establishment of missile defense systems by certain countries poses a threat to global security, according to a declaration adopted at a summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
The SCO nations reiterated that unilateral and unrestricted attempts by certain countries and groups of countries to boost their systems of global missile defense negatively affect international security and stability.
The SCO countries also emphasized that they saw attempts by some countries to ensure their security at the expense of the security of others as unacceptable.
The SCO nations also called for further strengthening friendship, trust, good-neighborly relations and cooperation, expressing determination to boost ties in a number of fields in order to ensure global security and prosperity.
Kazakhstan's capital of Astana is hosting the SCO summit on July 3-4.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in the Chinese city of Shanghai on June 15, 2001, by six states: Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, and Uzbekistan. Pakistan and India joined the club in 2017, and Iran was granted membership in 2023. The process of Belarus’s accession to the organization is nearing completion.
The SCO brings together a total of 26 counties. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, Kuwait, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are SCO dialogue partners, while Afghanistan and Mongolia are observers.