SCO states can jointly cope with 'protectionist measures, illegal sanctions,' says Russia

ISTANBUL

If they cooperate, members states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be able to overcome "protectionist measures and illegal sanctions," imposed on them by other nations, Russia said on Thursday.

"The overall priority is to ensure our countries' resilience to global challenges, reliably protecting citizens and businesses in the face of increasing competition and turbulence, as well as tightening protectionist measures and illegal sanctions that lead to disruption of supply chains of goods and services around the world," Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at an SCO meeting in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

"Together, we can cope with this," Mishustin said at an expanded meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO.

Pointing to a record-high trade turnover volume of almost 18.5 trillion Russian rubles ($196.9 billion) last year between Russia and other SCO members following growth by more than a third, he said this was evidence of their resilience against such protectionist policies and sanctions.

"We must continue to work to improve the organization’s activities taking into account modern geopolitical realities," Mishustin also stressed. He added that the SCO was committed to the formation of a fair and multipolar world order based on international law.

On the accession process for Belarus into the SCO, he said it was expected that all procedures would soon be complete and Minsk would become a new member of the bloc.

Mishustin arrived in Bishkek on Wednesday, where he held bilateral talks with his Chinese and Mongolian counterparts, as well as Iran's vice president.

He is expected to later attend a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States and a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.