A32News - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey should not be glued to join the EU and to consider joining the Shanghai Pact.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), or better known as the Shanghai Pact, is a block of security and economic cooperation lax led Russia and China.
Another member economic bloc are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, all of which are countries of the former Soviet Union.
Erdogan's statement comes as Turkey hopes to join the EU since a decade ago reached its nadir, as a result of a failed military coup on July 15 last.
"Turkey should have been from the beginning to feel relaxed and not fixated on the EU," Erdogan said to the journalists on their way to Uzbekistan.
"Some people may criticize me but I just expression. For example, I say why Turkey did not join the Shanghai five" asked Erdogan.
Erdogan added that he had discussed this idea with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Erdogan has several times floated a plan to bring Turkey to join the SCO, a move that could destroy the country's efforts to join the European Union.
However, the prospect of becoming members of the SOC had nearly shattered when the Turkish army shoot down Russian fighter jets in November last year.
Turkish media reported last August, President Nazarbayev became the mediator between Ankara and Moscow to settle their dispute.
Turkey formally applied for EU membership in 1987 and talks to discuss permohan new Turkey starts in 2005.
In fact, Ankara's aspirations to enter the European economic bloc that has been coveted since the 1960s.
However, Erdogan's government harsh measures against suspected perpetrators of the coup makes Brussels lifted criticisms and asked Ankara within the remit of human rights and freedom of citizens.
Last March the EU and Turkey agreed to speed up talks on the issue of membership in exchange deal which requires Turkey to prevent immigrants flooded Greece.
This agreement provides several advantages for Ankara, including financial assistance for the handling of Syrian refugees in the country.
In addition, Turkish citizens can travel to Schengen countries without needing a visa.
