“The expected decision in the Samarkand summit regarding Belarus does not mean that it will immediately become a member of the SCO” — Nurimbetov

Nurimbetov said that Belarus officially applied to become a full member of the SCO in June. However, the process has not been finalized.

“Currently, this issue is being studied by 8 member states, but the final decision has not been reached. The topic is on the meeting agenda of the national coordinators of the SCO countries to be held in Samarkand on September 10-14.

It can be said that there is a good chance that there will be a consensus to accept Belarus as a full member of the SCO. This means that at the Samarkand summit, the decision of the state leaders to start the procedure of accepting this country as a full member of the SCO can be made. However, the decision does not mean that this country will immediately become a member of the SCO.

Experience shows that such a process usually takes an average of two years. Because the candidate state has to fulfill a number of obligations, and this requires a certain amount of time,” the national coordinator said.