NATO Ally Turkey Seeks Membership in China-Led SCO, Erdogan Says
- Turkish president expresses interest in joining China-led SCO
- Erdogan also said he may meet with Syria’s president Al-Assad
Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Xi Jinping in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 4
Photographer: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidency/Getty Images
Turkey, a NATO member, wants to join the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a member, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after attending the SCO summit in Kazakhstan.
“We want to further develop our relations with Russia and China within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We believe they should accept us not just as a dialogue partner but as a member like the others,” Erdogan said, according to minutes of his interview with a group of journalists, as reported by NTV news channel. He said a membership could take some time.