Kazakh Foreign Ministry: Turkey yet to apply for SCO membership

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has not received an official application from Turkey to join the organization, the Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov said.

"It’s Turkey’s decision, but there is no official application from Turkey yet. The issue of accepting a new member into the organization is a prerogative of all SCO member states. They must reach a consensus on the issue. Everyone's heard some reports in the media but it is not an official application. Apparently, someone just said out loud what they were thinking. Of course, we pay attention to it," Sputnik cited Idrissov as saying.

"What is important here is a clear intention, the desire of Turkey itself. You know that the issue is not that simple, keeping in mind Turkey’s European aspirations," the minister added.