Shanghai signals cooperation with Turkey

The Turkish government was given a green light to participate as an observer at the high-level meeting.

Responding to a question from Cihan News Agency, Liu Jianchao, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman, said that although no official application has yet been received from Turkish officials for a position as an observer country, interest from the administration in Ankara is welcome.

"Turkey's inclusion into the SCO is certain to be appreciated, since this is a transparent organization," said the spokesman, expressing the organization's readiness for cooperation as well as coordination with countries such as Turkey.

China has thus followed Russia in its welcome interest for Ankara to join the SCO.

The Turkish Prime Minister expressed his interest in the organization during a January meeting with Putin and asked for support in cooperation with the SCO, which the Russian leader answered positively.

In addition to the full memberships of China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the SCO has currently four other countries at observer status: Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia.

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