After waiting for two years, Turkey finally became a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) last week, thus moving a step closer to fulfilling a desire by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to one day becoming a full member of what is predominantly a security bloc — that some argue is not only a counterbalance to NATO but also provides Ankara with an alternative to its stalled European Union membership bid.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hailed the development as a “historic day,” adding, "With this choice, Turkey is declaring that our destiny is the same as the destiny of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries." He was speaking in Almaty, the commercial capital of Kazakhstan, during a joint press conference with SCO Secretary-General Dmitry Mezentsev on April 26, after signing the memorandum of understanding making Turkey’s dialogue partnership official.

"Turkey will be part of a family, which is composed of the countries which lived together not for centuries — for millennia," Davutoglu added, according to Reuters, going on to say, "This is the beginning of a long way, walking together, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder."

Erdogan came out last summer suggesting that if Turkey was admitted to the SCO it could consider giving up on its EU bid. Answering questions for a panel of journalists on July 25, 2012, on Kanal 24, a pro-government channel, he said that he had jested about the topic with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country, together with China, dominates the SCO.