Faced with a “direct threat”. Moscow wants to expand military maneuvers with Asian allies

Shoigu was speaking at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security group that includes Russia, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

“I believe that everyone present shares the opinion that the installation of military infrastructure in the region by the United States and its allies is unacceptable”, said Shoigu, at a meeting of the organization taking place in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.

“Such intentions must be considered as a direct threat to stability in the SCO space.”

Sergei Shoigu highlighted that “the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization should expand the scope and geography of their military exercises”.

In his speech, the minister underlined Russia’s intention to strengthen military ties with partners in Asia and resist any erosion of its influence on the continent, despite the intense demands placed on its army by the war it has been waging for more than two years in Ukraine. .

Domestically, Shoigu’s position is coming under greater scrutiny than usual following the arrest of one of his deputies this week in a bribery scandal, a development that threatens to weaken him politically.
In the speech, Shoigu accused the QUAD (United States, Japan, Australia and India) and AUKUS (Australia, US and United Kingdom) blocs, both led by Washington, of trying to remodel the security structure in the Pacific to serve themselves and stated that he was increasing pressure is being exerted on China vis-à-vis Taiwan.

For Shoigu, the The main threat in Central Asia comes from “radical terrorist groups located in Afghanistan”. The United States is working to restore influence in the region, which it lost after the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for the deaths of more than 140 people at a concert hall near the Russian capital last month, and the United States has said it was the group’s Afghan network that planned the attack. However, the Russian defense minister repeated Moscow’s claim that Ukraine was behind the attack, a claim that Kiev has denied and that Washington says is absurd.

Without presenting evidence to support the claims, Shoigu accused foreign advisers of helping Kiev prepare acts of sabotage on Russian territory and that Ukraine was using Western weapons to attack Russian civilian infrastructure.

w/agencies