Konflikten i Syrien

/.../We will not mention here the large number of Islamic fighters we were to see emerging from the rubble under the Russian peace agreement – a vast army compared to the few fighters we had expected, coming out in their hundreds, bearded men whom we had not seen, ever, in those mortifying videos of civilian suffering that came to us from the siege over many weeks. How come we had not seen them before? Some still carried their weapons. But that is, as they say, for tomorrow. Civilians must come first.

In June 2016, the world watched as the United Kingdom voted for Brexit and wondered what it would mean for the European Union and other pillars of the liberal international order. That same week, few were paying attention as the architecture of an emerging regional order in Asia added a new dimension. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held its annual summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and announced that India and Pakistan would begin the process of becoming full members, joining China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. It was the first time that the SCO admitted new members, and it may not be the last, with future expansion possibly bringing the SCO to the Persian Gulf.

In June 2017 another SCO summit was held, this time in Astana, Kazakhstan, when the admission of its two newest members was formalized. It is now the most populous regional organization, with three billion people, accounting for 17.5 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, and as much as 50 percent of known natural gas reserves, and about 14 trillion dollars in GDP.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and security organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003. These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group, founded on 26 April 1996 in Shanghai. India and Pakistan joined SCO as full members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
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In 2017, SCO's eight full members account for approximately half of the world's population, a quarter of the world's GDP, and about 80% of Eurasia's landmass.

While this round of SCO expansion has long been expected, a potential next round was discussed last spring: the upgrading of Iran’s status from observer state to full member. Iran applied for full membership in 2008, but the SCO had stated that countries under United Nations sanctions could not be admitted. The removal of sanctions in 2016 has opened the possibility of Iran joining, with Putin stating, “We believe that after Iran’s nuclear problem was solved and United Nations sanctions lifted, there have been no obstacles left.” China’s deputy foreign minister also expressed support for Iranian membership, saying that China “welcomes and supports Iran’s wish to become a formal member of the SCO.”

An interesting spillover effect of Iran in the SCO could be the further expansion of the SCO into the Middle East. Turkey is already a dialogue partner, and given its importance in the BRI, it could consider membership eventually as well.

China oil futures launch may threaten primacy of U.S. dollar: UBS
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This is the single biggest change in capital markets, maybe of all time,”
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This helps cement the exchange’s viability and challenges the petro-dollar system, in which oil deals are executed in dollars. This would decrease demand for the greenback and boost U.S. inflation.