Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday that his country, a NATO member, will consider joining as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization—a security and political bloc led by China and Russia that also includes Iran, according to Reuters.
1+Turkey currently isn’t a full member of the organization but holds “dialogue partner” status. Erdoğan attended the organization’s summit Tuesday in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and afterward said Ankara may consider upgrading its relationship with the organization to full membership.
Despite the move toward the China- and Russia-led bloc, Erdoğan made clear such a step wouldn’t signal Turkey distancing itself from the West. “Turkey’s option for full membership in the organization does not mean disconnecting from another bloc or from the West,” he said.
1+The comments are particularly striking given that Turkey is a member of NATO, the Western military alliance led by the United States. If Ankara does move toward full membership in the Shanghai organization, it would try to deepen ties with China, Russia and Iran while simultaneously maintaining its place in NATO.