Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday that NATO member Türkiye could seek full membership in the China- and Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
He stressed, however, that closer relations with the Eurasian security bloc would not mean that Türkiye was moving away from NATO or the West in general.
“Türkiye’s prospect of full [SCO] membership … does not imply a breakaway from any other bloc or from the West,” Erdoğan told reporters aboard his flight home from Kyrgyzstan.
On Tuesday, Erdoğan attended the landmark SCO summit in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, where he described the organisation as a “rising star” and an “indispensable part of an emerging multipolar order.”
Türkiye became an SCO dialogue partner in 2012. But it is neither a full-fledged member of the organisation, nor does it have observer status.
The SCO currently boasts 10 full members: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Founded in 2001, the SCO initially focused on regional security, counterterrorism, and border cooperation. Since then, however, its activities have expanded to include trade, energy, transportation, and diplomatic coordination.
Erdoğan has long pursued closer political and commercial ties with both China and Russia while maintaining Türkiye’s longstanding position as a core NATO member.
On the summit’s sidelines, Erdoğan held a 90-minute meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin.
Before the closed-door meeting, Erdoğan told reporters that Türkiye planned to take additional “steps” toward developing power-plant projects with Russia following the opening of the Russian-built Akkuyu nuclear facility on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast.
Türkiye’s first nuclear plant, the Akkuyu facility is expected to meet roughly 10 percent of the country’s total electricity needs once it comes online.
Putin, for his part, described Türkiye as one of Moscow’s “privileged partners” in both foreign policy and economic affairs, praising Erdoğan’s role in maintaining close bilateral ties.
Türkiye has declined to join Western sanctions against Moscow over the ongoing war in Ukraine, while simultaneously supplying weapons to Kyiv and offering to mediate between the warring parties.
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A TV channel was struck during a live broadcast on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least three people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Meanwhile, drones hit civilian infrastructure in Russia's southwestern Saratov region.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly launched two ballistic missile attacks against a U.S. Navy warship over the past two days.
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they attacked two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, calling the strikes a response to a U.S. attack on five Iranian tankers.
Sea drones have injured eight people in Russia's Black Sea resort city of Sochi, regional authorities said. In Ukraine, two people were wounded, one seriously, in Russian drone strikes on the city of Kryvyi Rhi, a defence official said. Strikes were also reported in other Ukrainian cities.
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they attacked two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, calling the strikes a response to a U.S. attack on five Iranian tankers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's aircraft was nearly struck by a drone while departing Moldova on its way to Norway, according to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
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