Scholz says he is 'annoyed' by Türkiye's potential entry into a body led by Russia and China.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "very angry" about Turkey's attempts to join a Central Asian security body dominated by Russia and China.
Sputnik - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday (20) that he was "very angry" about Turkey's attempts to join a Central Asian security body dominated by Russia and China.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday (17) that Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), intends to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
"This is not an organization that is making a significant contribution to good global coexistence," Scholz said at the United Nations General Assembly in New York after meeting with Erdogan.
According to Reuters, the German Chancellor is "very angry about this involvement." For Erdogan, Turkey's accession to the SCO will take its relations with participating countries to a completely different level.
When asked if he was considering joining the organization, Erdogan replied affirmatively: "Of course. That is our goal," he emphasized.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was founded in 2001, comprising Russia, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. Turkey is currently an observer country.
Also today (20), at the UN, Chancellor Scholz rejected the referendum for the people's republics of Lugansk and Donetsk, and the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporozhie, to join Russia. He classified the votes as "unacceptable".
Scholz again blamed Russia for the global rise in food prices and warned against attempts by third countries to circumvent European Union sanctions against Russia.
He said the restrictions "do not prevent the sale of Russian food." Russia, in turn, insists that restrictions on international trade have affected its exports of food and fertilizers.