Turkey has not so far submitted an official application for joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russia's special presidential envoy to the security bloc, Bakhtier Khakimov, said, commenting on the statement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that it would be more comfortable for Turkey to work as part of the SCO.
"No official application of Turkey for accession to the SCO in due order as a full-fledged member has been lodged," TASS cited Khakimov as saying.
"As for basic criteria - belonging to the region - Turkey is part of the SCO space," he added.
Khakimov recalled that the Turkish leader has repeatedly said that the republic could join the SCO. "Turkey is a dialogue partner," he said.
