Turkey's relations with Russia, China don't mean turning its back on the West, Erdogan says

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey is not backing away from the West as it seeks deeper ties with the East, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday as he headed back from a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

The conference in Kyrgyzstan saw Erdogan hold a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at which they discussed further nuclear cooperation .

In comments made to journalists aboard the presidential plane, Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s goal of becoming a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, whose ten current members include Russia, China, India and Iran.

“I would also like to particularly emphasize that Turkey’s membership perspective in the organization does not mean a break from a bloc or turning our backs on the West,” the president said.

Turning to the war in Ukraine, during which Ankara has maintained friendly relations with both Moscow and Kyiv, Erdogan said it was his and Putin’s “expectation … that the war between Russia and Ukraine ends peacefully as soon as possible.”

He also underlined the importance of maritime security in the Black Sea, where civilian shipping has come under increasing attack.

“There is a need for a mechanism that will permanently ensure the safety of commercial maritime transport in the Black Sea,” Erdogan said, adding that it would be “beneficial” to prevent a “resurgence of the grain crisis.”

Turkey brokered a grain deal in 2022 that opened Ukrainian ports and allowed the movement of Russian food and fertilizer. The agreement, which Putin pulled out of a year later, was vital for global food supplies, especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

The SCO, founded in 2001, also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Belarus. The growing bloc has been billed as a counterweight to U.S. global influence, although its goals and programs remain vague.