Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 16
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Despite the fact that accession to the EU and full membership in this union are a priority for Ankara, membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) could be an alternative to it, Erdem Eren, Turkish foreign policy expert and chief coordinator of the Beyaz Hareket political movement, told Trend.
He noted that in the past, Turkey put forward various initiatives for establishing regional organizations, where it could play a leading role.
For example, Turkey’s former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan had offered creation of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, whose members are currently Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
“Former President Turgut Ozal put forward the idea of creating a union, which would include the Balkan states, Turkic countries as well as Middle East countries. But the US prevented the implementation of this initiative and instead, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) was created,” Eren said.
The expert noted that problems in relations with the EU push Turkey to search for new alternatives, adding that the SCO membership is very attractive for Turkey in economic, political, military and cultural terms.
“The dynamic development of the SCO in recent years also attracts Turkey,” he noted.
Eren did not rule out that in case of accession into the SCO, Ankara may play the role of a bridge between this organization and the West, as well as between Balkan and Middle East countries.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that his country intends to become a full member of the SCO.
The SCO includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The SCO observer states are Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan. Turkey and Sri Lanka have the SCO dialogue partner status.