SCO criticizes US foreign policy, holds military maneuvers

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) launched a thinly veiled attack on US foreign policy on Thursday, saying that modern security threats "can only be effectively countered through united efforts of the international community." The leaders of the SCO member nations – China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – made the joint statement following a summit just outside the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, AFP reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the six-year-old SCO, whose members are due to complete unprecedented military maneuvers on Friday, saying it was becoming a more significant player in terms of Central Asian security and stability. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once again attended the summit as an observer. Many analysts see the SCO as an anti-Western alliance aimed at countering NATO and opposing democratic development in the region.