Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on board the plane, at which he was returning from the SCO summit in Astana, told the press, that he is considering the possibility of his country joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
According to Erdogan, Ankara considers it expedient to further develop relations with Russia and China within the SCO. Wherein, according to the Turkish leader, we should move from the status of a dialogue partner to the status of a full member of this association. Erdogan mentioned Islamic countries that have joined the SCO as a successful example for Turkey, like Iran and Pakistan. Erdogan considers joining the SCO extremely beneficial for Turkey, whose authorities were disappointed in the idea of European integration.
Upon returning from a trip to the SCO summit, Erdogan noted, that Türkiye hopes for a speedy resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, preventing the armed conflict from escalating into a global, however, the approaches of a number of Western countries provoke the outbreak of the third world war.
It is worth noting, that Türkiye is currently geographically, and politically plays the role of a kind of connecting link between the countries of the Global South and the West and, pursuing your interests, seeks to extract maximum benefit from its geopolitical position by any means. Membership in NATO and the long-term desire to join the European Union do not in the least hinder Ankara’s partnership with the SCO and even the desire to become a member of BRICS.
