According to Reuters, Mr. Shoigu made the above statement at a meeting of defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan today (April 26). SCO is a security group that brings together Russia, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
“I believe that everyone present here shares the same opinion that the deployment of military infrastructure by the United States and its allies in the region is unacceptable. Such intentions must be considered a direct threat to stability in the SCO space,” the leader of the Russian Ministry of Defense emphasized. Mr. Shoigu called on SCO member countries to expand the scope and location of exercises.
In his speech, the Russian Defense Minister also accused the Quad group (including the US, Japan, Australia and India) and the AUKUS group (including the US, UK and Australia), both led by the US, of trying to trying to reshape the security architecture in the Pacific to suit their ambitions.
Mr. Shoigu said the main threat in Central Asia comes from “extremist terrorist groups in Afghanistan”. He believes the US is trying to restore the influence in the region that it lost after withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
“Russia has never threatened the North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO). We have neither geopolitical nor military interests to attack member countries of this bloc. We simply protect people.” its people in its historical territories,” Mr. Shoigu added, affirming that Russia always makes maximum efforts to maintain strategic stability and balance of power in the world.
Observers assessed that Mr. Shoigu’s speech showed that Moscow wanted to strengthen military relations with partners in Asia and counter any erosion of Moscow’s influence in the region.
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Tags: Russia called Asian allies increase joint exercises declaring threatened NATO
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