Türkiye Says SCO Membership Won’t Turn West

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan underscored that Turkey’s pursuit of full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization does not mean abandoning the West, describing Ankara’s policy as a 360-degree approach that balances ties with both East and West. After attending the SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan, Erdogan highlighted Turkey’s broader foreign policy goal to diversify economic, political, and strategic options and noted strong, multi-directional relations with SCO members from China to Russia and Central Asia. He reiterated his hope for peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war and called for a mechanism to ensure the Black Sea’s maritime security, arguing it would help prevent a grain-price crisis after Turkey brokered a 2022 grain deal. The SCO’s growing profile as a regional bloc is framed as a counterweight to U.S. influence, with Erdogan stressing Turkey’s ambition to deepen cooperation rather than pivot away from Western alliances. Articles also reflect Erdogan’s consistent message that membership in the SCO would enhance Turkey’s global influence without severing Western ties, including the economic scale of SCO trade and Türkiye’s strategic position between continents.