Erdogan of Turkey Seeks Full Membership in Moscow-Led Regional Alliance

NATO member Turkey expressed its desire to join the Moscow-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed this week.

Since 2013, Turkey has held the status of an SCO “dialogue partner,” typically considered a preliminary step towards full membership in the organization.

Mr. Erdogan insisted that Turkey “should now be included as a permanent member in the Shanghai Five.”

He disclosed that he has already discussed the matter with the leaders of Russia and China.

The Turkish leader made these statements following his participation in a three-day NATO summit in Washington, where discussions primarily centered around the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict.

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In 1996, the “Shanghai Five” was established by Moscow and Beijing to counter what was perceived as Western influence in Eurasia.

Initially comprising Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, the regional bloc changed its name to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization when Uzbekistan joined in 2001.

In 2017, India and Pakistan became members despite their historical rivalries, and in 2023, Iran joined the bloc.

At a recent SCO summit in Kazakhstan, Belarus—a key Russian ally in Eastern Europe—also became a member, making it the organization’s tenth member.

Convened on July 3 and July 4, the summit was attended by most SCO heads of state as well as the leaders of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

According to its founding principles, the SCO aims to foster political, economic, and commercial cooperation among its member states.

Moreover, the organization emphasizes joint defense and security efforts.

Last year, personnel from SCO member states participated in military drills in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region.

Mr. Khakimov informed Russia’s TASS news agency on July 9 that the drills are “conducted by the armed forces [of SCO members] and aimed at combating terrorism.”

“The [Russian] defense ministry has scheduled another similar exercise for 2025,” Mr. Khakimov added, without specifying the location.

During the recent SCO summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated the call for a “new cooperation architecture, indivisible security, and development in Eurasia.”

He expressed in state media that this “new architecture” is designed to replace the “outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models, which favored specific states unilaterally.”

‘Unique Position’

Last month, Mr. Putin emphasized that the SCO welcomes all Eurasian countries, including Turkey, a NATO member since 1952.

Under Mr. Erdogan’s leadership, Turkey has nurtured cordial relations with Russia, characterized by extensive trade links and a long maritime border.

Ankara criticized Russia’s incursion into Ukraine in 2022 but has refrained from endorsing Western sanctions against Moscow, much to the dismay of its NATO partners.

Furthermore, Turkey has maintained positive ties with Kyiv, occasionally assuming a mediating role.

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov seemed to dampen Turkey’s aspirations of joining the SCO—at least in the immediate future.

“We are cognizant of Turkey’s ambition to enter the SCO,” Mr. Peskov stated on July 12, as reported by state media.

“However, there is a conflict of interest between Turkey’s obligations as a NATO member and the principles enshrined in the founding documents of the SCO,” he remarked.

“There are certain matters that need to be deliberated,” he concluded without further elaboration.

As of the time of publication, Ankara had not responded to the statements made by the Kremlin spokesperson.

Reuters contributed to this report.