Posted on 09/02/2026 7:04:54 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
NATO member Turkey would consider taking its relations with the China and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to a higher level, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.
"Turkey's prospect of (full) membership to the organization does not imply a breakaway from any other bloc or from the West," Erdogan said, according to a transcript of remarks he made to journalists on his return flight from Kyrgyzstan.
Erdogan attended a summit of the SCO, of which Turkey is a "dialog partner," in Bishkek on Tuesday.
Erdogan also said on Wednesday that a mechanism is needed to permanently ensure the safety of commercial maritime transport in the Black Sea before a grain crisis escalates.
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey had prepared a plan for the safe passage of grain via the Black Sea, and that it was in contact with both Russia and Ukraine regarding it.
Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks on Tuesday in Bishkek on the sidelines of the SCO summit, and Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin had discussed the situation in the Black Sea with Erdogan.
In remarks to journalists on his return flight from the trip to Kyrgyzstan, Erdogan said a grain crisis had resurfaced, particularly in Africa, and action needed to be taken before the problem escalated further, according to a transcript shared by his office on Wednesday.
"The safety of all civilian maritime transportation in the Black Sea is important to us. The fighting between parties should not escalate to a point where it undermines the safety of civilians and commercial life," Erdogan said. "We need to resolve this issue," he added.
In July 2022, Turkey and the United Nations helped mediate the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative to allow the safe export of nearly 33 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, despite the war.
However, Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023, complaining that its own food and fertilizer exports faced serious obstacles.
In comments on recent efforts to reach a deal, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Wednesday that Moscow sees no grounds for the Black Sea grain agreement to resume.
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Then why allow Turkey to stay in NATO?
So much for his commitments to NATO.
Would Recep Tayyip Erdogan first entertain total withdrawal from NATO first? He seems to be a very uncertain ally of the Western nations already, in spite of the “Turkeyification” of much of Europe.
And may we send Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur back to the land of their ancestry? Neither one likes the United States all that much, and it must distress them daily to remain in this country.
The Russians and Chinese have always supported the muslim countries. Turkey is muslim and their dictator is anti-Israel and doesn’t like the US either. He likes our military equipment and buys it. He wants to put together the old caliphate and rule the entire middle east.
Our equipment should NOT be in Turkish hands!!
Time for the euros to step up
Time for the euros to step up”
As if.
Turkey’s relationship with Israel makes this much more complicated.
Turkey should never have been accepted into NATO.
Their interests are not our interests, especially on security matters.
Turkey today is not the same as Turkey 25 or 50 years ago. It is now much less secular and much more in tune with the cult of Islamism.
Translation: we like the NATO goodies provided by the USA and don't want to give those up.
Just keep buying those crap Turkish firearms and ammo, FReepers. Turkey needs the money to expand the Muslim centers they are building here to undermine the things you stand for.
Since China and Russia are no friends of Israel and Turkey wants to destroy Israel, I don’t see the complication. ??
Erdogan is for anything personally beneficial for himself.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic and international security organisation of ten member states. It focuses on political, economic, security and counter-terrorism cooperation.
It is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, covering at least 24% of the world's total area (65% of Eurasia) and 42% of the world population. As of 2024, its combined nominal GDP accounts for around 23%, while its GDP based on PPP comprises approximately 36% of the world's total.
The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, formed in 1996 between China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. In June 2001, the leaders of these nations and Uzbekistan met in Shanghai to announce the SCO, a new organisation with deeper political and economic cooperation. In June 2017, it expanded to eight states, with India and Pakistan. Iran joined the group in July 2023, and Belarus in July 2024.
So if the SCO became a genuine defensive military alliance, would Israel dare to bomb Turkey with most of the planet allied in Turkey's defense?
these jihadists do not belong in NATO....
the headchoppers they installed in Syria should not be recognized by Trump or USA..
It’s weird how some people worship Russia as the great champion of Christianity.
Turkey is trying to relive the glories of the Ottoman empire. They have deployed troops and equipment within Syria to counter the Kurds and support the mullah regime in Iran. They are now clearly within Israel’s offensive range. If circumstances evolve, as they are likely to do, then Israel will confront out of necessity these Turkish formations. Soon the world will see how Turkey’s combat inexperienced forces perform and how the Turkish dreams hold up. As Mike Tyson famously said, everyone has a plan until they gey punched in the head.
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