MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - A preliminary agreement to broaden the trilateral alliance of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, AUKUS, with Japan and South Korea may be reached on August 18, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva Gennady Gatilov said.
"Intensified military-technical and scientific-technological cooperation between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo facilitates convergence with AUKUS projects and thereby makes the accession of South Korea and Japan to the partnership quite realistic," Gatilov said in an interview published by the newspaper Izvestia on Monday.
"It is possible that certain understandings and preliminary agreements to the effect may be reached at the trilateral meeting of the leaders of the United States, South Korea and Japan on August 18," he said.
"One cannot draw a direct analogy between AUKUS and, for example, NATO", still "the existence of a significant military-strategic component gives reason to assume a high probability of transformation of the interstate group into a full-fledged military-political bloc," Gatilov said.
"This kind of scenario cannot be ruled out. It will become even more realistic if the partnership expands to embrace South Korea and Japan and its technological function takes a secondary role upon the completion of the submarine project, while the focus shifts to military and strategic aspects," he said.
The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom announced the establishment of a trilateral security partnership, AUKUS, in September 2021. Later, the AUKUS unveiled a project to deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra in the upcoming decades. Starting in 2032, the U.S. will sell three to five Virginia-class submarines to Australia. The next stage of the plan envisages construction of SSN Aukus subs by Australia and the United Kingdom. The first subs are due to enter service no sooner than two decades from now.