Erdogan says Turkey can spurn EU and join Shanghai Pact
AFP
AFP, ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey should not be fixated on joining the EU and has reiterated the idea of joining Russia and China in a Eurasian security group, local media reported Sunday.
His comments come as Turkeys decades-long hopes of joining the European Union have reached a nadir, driven by the aftermath of the July 15 botched coup.
Turkey should first of all feel relaxed about the EU and not be fixated about joining it, Erdogan told Turkish journalists on a plane from Uzbekistan, Hurriyet newspaper and other media reported.
Some may criticise me but I express my opinion. For example, I say why shouldnt Turkey be in the Shanghai 5?, he said. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- also called the Shanghai Pactis a loose security and economic bloc led by Russia and China. Other members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Erdogan said he had already discussed the idea with Russian President Vladimir Putin and with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Erdogan has several times floated plans for Turkey to join the SCO, a move that could scupper its long-standing EU membership bid.
The SOC option became clouded, though, when a Russian warplane was downed by the Turkish air force last November.
Turkish media reported in August that Nazarbayev mediated a deal between Ankara and Moscow to smooth over the dispute.
Turkey formally applied to become an EU member in 1987 and accession talks only began in 2005, even though Ankaras aspirations to become part of the bloc dates back to the 1960s.
Brussels has harshly criticised the Turkish governments crackdown on alleged coup plotters, urging Ankara to comply with rights and freedoms criteria.
Erdogan this week warned the EU to decide by years end on its membership bid, threatening to otherwise call a referendum on this matter.
