By Rhod Mackenzie
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is not directed against other countries or international organizations and is open to broad levels of cooperation, according to the joint New Delhi Declaration, signed following an online meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member states chaired by India.
The New Delhi Declaration states that the states that are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization confirm that the SCO is not directed against other countries or international organizations, is open to broad cooperation with them in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the SCO Charter and international law on the basis of consideration of mutual interests and commonality of approaches to solving regional and global problems, TASS reports .
In addition, according to the declaration, the SCO member countries stand for respect for the right of peoples to an independent and democratic choice of their political and socio-economic development paths, emphasize that the principles of mutual respect for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity of states, equality, mutual benefit, non-interference in internal affairs, the non-use of force or the threat of use of force are the basis for the sustainable development of international relations.
The states that are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the declaration also again drew attention to the fact that the unilateral and unlimited build-up of global missile defense systems (ABM) by individual countries or groups of states has a negative impact on international security and stability.
The declaration emphasizes that the SCO member states consider it unacceptable to attempt to ensure their own security at the expense of the security of other states.
Earlier on Tuesday, the leaders of the SCO countries within the framework of the 23rd summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization signed a memorandum on the obligations of Belarus to join the association.
This article originally appeared in Russian at vz.ru