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 Turkey’s 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 shouldn’t Turkey be in the Shanghai 5?,” he said.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) — also called the Shanghai Pact-is a loose security and economic bloc led by Russia and China. Other members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
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 Turkey’s 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 shouldn’t Turkey be in the Shanghai 5?,” he said.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) — also called the Shanghai Pact-is a loose security and economic bloc led by Russia and China. Other members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
