Türkiye not compelled to choose between EU, Shanghai Cooperation Organization: President Erdogan

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye is not compelled to choose between the EU and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, “as some claim," the Turkish president said on Saturday.

"While strengthening our relations with the East, we seek ways to advance our deep-rooted cooperation with the West," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the Naval War College Commencement and Flag Handover Ceremony in Istanbul.

Stressing that Türkiye will protect its rights in “Blue Homeland” till the end and will not allow the rights of Turkish Cypriots to be violated, Erdogan said: "The fact that there are borders between us and the people with whom we lived together just a century ago does not mean that we will be separated from the geography of our hearts."