Iran officially joins SCO anti-Western alliance: what we know about it

The decision was made at the SCO summit in New Delhi, Russian media report. 

The leaders of the SCO countries also signed a memorandum on Belarus' commitment to join the union. The signing of this memorandum launches the procedure for the republic's full accession to the SCO, the statement said. Belarus has now been invited to the summit as an observer.

In a joint declaration, the SCO countries emphasized the need for "peaceful regulation of relations between countries" through dialogue. The statement also says that unilateral economic sanctions are incompatible with international law and have a negative impact on relations.

What we know about the SCO

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an international organization founded on June 15, 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. On June 9, 2017, India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO.

The SCO does not position itself as a military bloc; the main tasks of the organization are to protect the borders of the member states, fight terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug trafficking, develop economic cooperation, energy partnership, scientific and cultural cooperation. The members of the organization have repeatedly held joint military exercises.

The organization's goal is to "counter Western influence in Eurasia".

In 2016, Turkish President Recep Erdogan considered the possibility of his country joining the SCO.