Erdogan to EU: If you are going to do it, do it

Speaking to reporters at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul before leaving for Czech Republic on Sunday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan again criticized the EU for putting Ankara's membership bid on hold and said Ankara was looking for alternatives to the 27-nation bloc after waiting for five decades to join it. Erdogan also said he was hopeful that members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which he earlier said Turkey might seek to join instead of the EU, would improve their democratic record over time. "I ask this question concerning the EU: Doesn't a country need to make a decision after it has been kept waiting for 50 years [for membership]?" Erdogan said, adding that he will convey the message openly to EU leaders when he visits Brussels soon. "If you are going to do it [let Turkey join], do it; if you are not, say it openly that you are not. If you insist that we should be the ones to say it out loud, we can consider that, too," Erdogan noted.  Stating that the EU and the SCO are not mutually exclusive alternatives, even though a country may well join one and quit the other if it wants to, Erdogan said that even though it was primarily established to focus on border security, the SCO has now become an organization promoting economic cooperation among its members. In response to criticisms that Turkey's human rights record would deteriorate, in case it drops its EU bid, Erdogan said, "They say there is no democracy in the Shanghai countries. Democracy did not come to the EU overnight. And don't forget what EU nations did in Rwanda and Algeria. Why did they deport Roma people? Does Islamophobia fit into human rights? I believe the Shanghai countries will further intensify their democratization process." Erdogan also slammed Israel for last week's air strikes inside Syria and also criticized Iran, saying that those who have treated Israel like a spoiled boy in particular can now expect anything from Israel at any time.