Shanghai Group Coordinators Meet In Moscow

Moscow thinks it necessary to coordinate the rapid-reaction mechanism of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation towards changes in the world situation, said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, opening up a meeting with participants in a sitting of the national coordinators' council of the SCO member states. Igor Ivanov said that Russia proposes to the SCO organisation to consider the possibility of holding emergency SCO foreign-ministerial meetings for discussing the current setup. "The September 11 tragedy and the emergence of an international antiterrorist coalition are a demonstration that the creation of regional antiterrorist structures within the SCO framework is timely and far-seeing", said Igor Ivanov. Work of the SCO organisation should now be oriented towards practical cooperation, he is sure. Moscow thinks it necessary to elaborate organisational aspects of SCO work so as to prepare weighty political decisions for an upcoming SCO summit meeting, due in St.Petersburg. To him, Moscow likes it that the SCO organisation views identically the post-September 11 situation in the world. Also, SCO members share similar views on political settlement of the situation in Afghanistan. "Minding Afghanistan's geographic proximity to our countries, we believe that our interaction should be further coordinated in the interest of political settlement and the attainment of stability in that country", said Igor Ivanov.