By NewsWatchmen.com

Turkey has spent years walking a delicate line between East and West. Now, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is signaling that Ankara may be prepared to take that balancing act even further. Following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Erdogan said Turkey could consider taking its relationship with the China- and Russia-led organization to…

Turkey has spent years walking a delicate line between East and West.

Now, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is signaling that Ankara may be prepared to take that balancing act even further.

Following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Erdogan said Turkey could consider taking its relationship with the China- and Russia-led organization to a higher level, potentially including full membership.

But Erdogan insists that such a move would not mean abandoning NATO or turning Turkey’s back on the West.

Turkey’s “360-Degree” Foreign Policy

Erdogan attended the SCO gathering in Bishkek on September 1 as Turkey’s president and addressed the organization’s broader role in a changing international system.

Turkey has been a dialogue partner of the SCO since 2012, but it is not currently a full member.

Speaking with journalists aboard his return flight, Erdogan said Turkey’s potential membership should not be interpreted as a departure from existing alliances.

He described Ankara’s objective as increasing Turkey’s international influence through what he called a “360-degree vision.”

That language is significant.

Turkey is already a NATO member. At the same time, Erdogan has cultivated increasingly important relationships with Russia, China and other nations outside the traditional Western alliance structure.

The result is a foreign policy designed to give Ankara options in multiple directions.

The SCO Is Growing in Influence

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has expanded dramatically since its creation.

Its current members include China, Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

At the Bishkek summit, Erdogan described the organization as an important component of an emerging multipolar international order.

He pointed to its enormous population and economic weight while emphasizing opportunities involving transportation corridors, energy security and trade.

Turkey is particularly interested in connecting the SCO region with Europe through transportation and energy infrastructure.

Erdogan specifically discussed aligning the Caspian-crossing Middle Corridor with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

That could give Turkey an increasingly important position between Europe, Russia, Central Asia and China.

Erdogan Meets Putin

The geopolitical significance became even more apparent when Erdogan held a lengthy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit.

The discussions included nuclear-energy cooperation.

Russia is already building Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant, and Erdogan said the two nations could pursue additional nuclear projects after Akkuyu becomes operational.

This is another example of the complicated relationship between Ankara and Moscow.

Turkey and Russia have disagreed sharply over issues including Syria and Ukraine, yet economic, energy and diplomatic cooperation has continued.

That relationship could become even more consequential if Turkey moves toward deeper SCO participation.

Does This Mean Turkey Is Leaving NATO?

No—not based on Erdogan’s current statements.

Erdogan explicitly rejected the idea that closer SCO relations require Turkey to abandon the West.

Turkey remains a NATO member, and the president emphasized that pursuing relationships with Eastern powers does not necessarily require breaking existing alliances.

But there is an important distinction between leaving NATO and diversifying strategic partnerships.

Turkey appears to be pursuing the second.

And that may ultimately create difficult questions for the Western alliance.

If Turkey becomes more deeply integrated with an organization containing Russia, China and Iran, NATO policymakers will inevitably have to consider how Ankara’s expanding Eastern relationships affect alliance strategy, intelligence cooperation, military planning and regional security.

The Bigger Geopolitical Picture

Turkey’s move is part of a much larger transformation.

The old post-Cold War assumption of a predominantly Western-led international system is facing increasing competition.

Russia and China are strengthening their partnership.

Iran has moved closer to both Moscow and Beijing.

BRICS has expanded.

The SCO continues developing its political and economic relationships.

And nations such as Turkey are increasingly attempting to maintain relationships with competing power centers simultaneously.

News Watchmen previously examined these developments in A New World Order? The BRICS Summit Could Change Everything This July, where Turkey’s interest in BRICS was identified as another indication of Ankara’s expanding strategic options.

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Via watchmen.com/2026/09/03/erdogan-signals-turkey-could-join-china-and-russia-led-sco-is-nato-facing-a-historic-realignment/