SCO needs tools to prevent terrorists from entering its area of responsibility - Russian defense minister

BEIJING, April 24. /TASS/. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) needs effective tools to prevent terrorists from entering its area of responsibility, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said, addressing a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) defense ministers in Beijing on Tuesday. "Security challenges and threats have been changing, which requires their continuous analysis and a search for joint solutions," he said. "The time has come to boost cooperation between the SCO defense ministries and pool our efforts to ensure common security. There is the need to work together to create effective tools to prevent terrorism from entering the SCO’s area of responsibility," Shoigu added. "At the same time, exchanging information, studying each other’s experiences in fighting terrorism and maintaining close contacts between militaries is highly important," he said. The Russian defense minister pointed out that a new mechanism for defense and security cooperation had been launched - the SCO Defense Ministers Meeting’s Expert Working Group. "We have received a report about its first meeting. We welcome the reached agreements, which concern the group’s further activities. We believe that it will be possible to improve the effectives of response mechanisms by studying terrorists’ tactics," Shoigu noted. He also said that Russia’s Defense Ministry called "for taking into consideration Russia’s military experience gained in Syria in relation to the Peace Mission joint drills set to be held in Russia in August. "Joint preparations for the exercises are underway. Their plan has been agreed on, which stipulates establishing a unified group of the SCO forces and carrying out a joint operation aimed at eliminating militant groups. We also intend to hold a meeting between general staff chiefs during the drills," Shoigu said. He also pointed to the fact that the admission of new members to the SCO and the expanding areas of cooperation required amending laws on military cooperation. "We support our experts’ activities in this connection and suggest that they be intensified," Shoigu said. The Russian defense minister was confident that the Beijing meeting would facilitate efforts to boost practical cooperation between the defense ministries of SCO member states. Read more