Kyrgyzstan: SCO’s Peaceful Mission joint drills kick off in Balykchy

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) launched its Peaceful Mission-2016 joint drills at the Edelweiss range in the Kyrgyz city of Balykchy, Thursday. A formal ceremony saw the exercises get underway, with troops from the host country, Russia, alongside China, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan raising their flags and marching. SOT, Rustam Minnekaev, Deputy Chief of Russian Central Military District (Russian): “Throughout the past 15 years, since the creation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation [SCO], we