Turkey to join sco

Istanbul Turkey aims to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, according to the state news agency Anadolu. That would make Turkey the first NATO member to join the eight-member bloc, dominated by China and Russia. Ankara “targets” SCO membership and would like to seriously discuss the issue at the 2023 summit in India, Erdogan told reporters in the Uzbek city of Samarkand where he attended the summit. The SCO website currently describes Turkey as one of six “dialogue partner” states. Turkey has “historical and cultural” ties to the Asian continent and would like to play a role in the SCO. (DPA)