Turkey ‘would abandon’ EU for Shanghai Five

ANKARA - Hürriyet

Turkey may discard its European Union bid if it is accepted by the Shangai Five, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said jokingly, speaking of his recent visit to Moscow, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday.

“I said to Russian President Vladimir Putin, ‘You tease us, saying “What [is Turkey] doing in the EU?” Now I tease you: include us in the Shanghai Five, and we will forget about the EU,’” Erdoğan said.

The Shanghai Five group was created April 26, 1996, in Shanghai by the heads of state of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Turkey’s EU accession talks are stalled, as the rotating EU presidency is held by Greek Cyprus as of July 2012.