The United States and NATO will find it difficult to accept Turkey's decision to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, if Ankara decides to take that step. Deputy Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien announced. "Turkey is a very interesting ally. At the moment, we are really cooperating effectively in a number of areas, and such a step will be difficult to take," he said.
Earlier, Erdogan announced at the press conference following the NATO summit in Washington that Ankara, which currently has observer status in the SCO, intends to become a full member of the organization. Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian President, in his turn stated that the Kremlin is aware of Turkey's desire to join the SCO, but its membership in NATO contradicts the fundamental documents of the organization.
