“Afghanistan is an observer in the SCO. The Russian leadership has applied considerable efforts so that we received this status and I hope that President [Vladimir] Putin will help Afghanistan become a member of the organization. I think that Afghanistan should strive for this status in the SCO,” Karzai said at a press conference in Moscow.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a political, economic and military alliance comprising Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was established in 2011.
Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners, while Afghanistan, Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia have the observer status in the SCO.
In May, SCO chief Dmitry Mezentsev stated that the alliance was extremely interested in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis in Afghanistan.
