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Turkey’s relations with Russia, China don’t mean turning its back on the West, Erdogan says
Erdogan said Turkey wants full Shanghai Cooperation Organization membership and stronger eastern ties while keeping relations with Western allies.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Turkey's pursuit of deeper ties with the East does not mean it is turning its back on the West.
Returning from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, Erdogan reiterated Turkey's goal of becoming a full member of the ten-member SCO.
During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan discussed nuclear cooperation and expressed a shared expectation that the war in Ukraine ends peacefully.
Erdogan emphasized the need for a mechanism to ensure maritime security in the Black Sea, adding it would prevent a "resurgence of the grain crisis."
The growing ten-member SCO, which includes Russia and China, is often viewed as a counterweight to global influence from the West, though its goals remain vague.
Turkey can take its relations with the China-Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to a higher level, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. Possible full membership would not mean moving away from NATO or the West, he stressed.