President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that it was time for Turkey to openly think about alternatives to the European Union, suggesting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the economic, political and military organization that counts China, Russia and the central Asian republics among its members, as a perfectly plausible substitute.
While Pakistan and India are also currently in the process of becoming full members, Turkey is a dialogue partner.
Turkey has more options than tying its entire future to the EU, President Erdogan said, speaking to journalists at the end of his official tour of Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
“I mentioned my desire for Turkey to become part of the SCO with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Kazakhstan President Nulsultan] Nazarbayev. Iran also wants to get in. Putin said it was under consideration. I believe if Turkey became a member, its room for maneuver will broaden considerably,” he stated.
Erdoğan described developments in the EU as ushering a new era for the future of the union.
“I see Brexit as an auspicious development. Similar things can happen in other countries. There is grumbling in France and also in Italy,” the president said.
Erdogan continued to say that a united stance among EU members was a thing of the past, citing last week’s Foreign Ministers’ Summit in Brussels he said, “They gathered with some urgency and no one besides Austria said anything about suspending Turkey’s membership negotiations.”
He noted Turkey’s first application to become a member of what was then known as the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1963, adding, “The EU has been procrastinating for 53 years. Can anyone accept such behavior? When I first became the prime minister [2003], the EU invited us to the leaders’ summit, and then they stopped. Why? Because we spoke openly. Ever since Sarkozy became the president [2007-2012], several membership negotiation chapters were opened but none were closed. If you are not going to conclude them, why open them in the first place?”
He furthermore criticized the EU for dragging its feet on lifting visa restrictions for Turkish citizens.
“People from Latin American countries do not need visas, but Turks do,” he said, adding that the migrant deal that entailed a readmission agreement and visa liberalization would be rescinded if all clauses of the deal were not applied.
When asked if there was nothing encouraging emanating from Europe, Erdogan said, “It is impossible to comprehend them.”
He said that European leaders never saw Turkey as a future member.
“From time to time, we see insults directed at myself, claims that there was no freedom of expression in Turkey. Meanwhile, Terrorists prance around in French, German and Belgian streets. This is what they understand of freedom,” Erdogan added.
