MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/: Multilateral agreements on nuclear weapons are impossible without factoring in the US missile defense system’s potential, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said during a video conference with his colleagues from other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries Tuesday.
He named "deterioration of the situation in strategic stability, including the US consistent actions on complete dismantling of its legal basis."
"The global missile defense system, under construction by the US, is a prime example of Washington trying to obtain strategic advantage at the cost of other countries’ security. Meanwhile, we are adamant that achieving viable agreements on nuclear missile issues without factoring in the US missile defense is impossible," Patrushev said.
According to the Russian Security Council secretary, "the current geopolitical situation is fundamentally different from the one, in which the SCO was established."
"Our utmost priority is to react on these changes, to work proactively, to improve the flexibility of our reaction to the new threats," he pointed out.
Patrushev underscored that "it is necessary to treat the international relations system, established after World War II, with the United Nations and its Security Council at its core, with care."
In this context, a closer coordination and a more consolidated position of the SCO member states, including within the UN and other key international venues, is in high demand like never before.
The (SCO) is a regional international association, which includes Russia, India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan and Belarus enjoy observer status. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka have dialogue partner status. Russia presides over the SCO in 2019-2020.
