Decision on Iran’s Entry to SCO to Be Made After UN Sanctions Lifted

The decision on the admission of Iran that has applied earlier to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be made after the UN Security council sanctions against the country are lifted and the time frameworks for Iran's accession to the organization will be defined after consultations, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The SCO is a political, military and economic alliance that includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Mongolia, Iran, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have observer status in the organization. In September 2014, Pakistan and India formally applied to join the alliance.

“Iran has also submitted an application. It is being considered, but the decision has been taken to return to it after the [UN] Security Council’s sanctions against Iran are lifted following the successful ending of the talks on [Iranian] nuclear program, and then, in our opinion, all the opportunities will be open for Iran to actively join our cooperation as well,” Ushakov said in an interview with RIA Novosti, RT and VGTRK.

The presidential aide added that after the sanctions against Iran are lifted, the SCO member states will start consultations and define the frameworks for Iran’s admission to the organization.