Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara considers the accession to the Shanghai cooperation organization (SCO) a real alternative to EU membership. This opinion he expressed on Sunday, November 20, in an interview with reporters, reports TASS referring to TV channel Haberturk.
“In Europe, after Brexit may experience similar events in other countries, in France say about this, Italy. I’m talking about, why Turkey does not take place in the Shanghai six?” — said the head of state.
He said that he had discussed the matter with the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan, and other SCO members. Erdogan stressed that Turkey would be “much easier” to work in the organization, while Brussels “for 53 years delaying the process” reception of the Republic in the EU.
On November 14, Erdogan said that in 2017, Turkey will pass a referendum on the continuation of negotiations on accession to the EU. He also said he was ready to sign the law on the return of the death penalty, if passed by Parliament. Capital punishment was abolished in the Republic in 2002, because it was a criterion chlenstvo in the European Union.
The application for EU membership Ankara applied in 1987, Ankara. 12 years later, after numerous reforms, Turkey was granted candidate status for membership. In 2005 started the accession negotiations, but they are not completed so far.
Currently the SCO includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Observer status are Belarus, Mongolia, India, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In July 2015 was launched the procedure of admission of India and Pakistan.