India blocks Azerbaijan’s membership in SCO due to close ties with Pakistan, says Zatulin

India has blocked Azerbaijan’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) due to the close ties between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma for the CIS and Relations with Russian Nationals Abroad, told Absatz.

Azerbaijani media have described India’s decision as short-sighted.

“This decision is a consequence of tensions between India and Pakistan, with which Azerbaijan closely cooperates, particularly in developing military-technical collaboration with Islamabad. Initially, Baku’s application to join the SCO was rejected. Russia and China support the expansion of the organization’s membership, but India’s position was known ahead of the summit,” Zatulin explained.

The official added that Baku was aware that New Delhi would block the country’s membership. However, Azerbaijan will now justify its desire to join the West by citing the impossibility of becoming an SCO member.

Alexey Fenenko, Associate Professor at Moscow State University’s Faculty of World Politics, said that India’s blocking of Azerbaijan’s membership “was a bitter pill for Baku, as they believed that even without Russia, it would be possible to establish cooperation with any country.”