"For us, forgetting this EU process is not something we would ever do," stated Erdoğan. "The EU process is constantly on our agenda. Egemen Bağış, our EU minister and chief negotiator briefs us on developments weekly at the Council of Ministers. We follow developments regarding the EU every week. The EU however, actually wants to forget us; however they are hesitating and cannot forget. We are not the ones that are undecided; the European Union is, whereas if they would just reveal their true intentions to us, we would be at ease. We could just look after our own business and go our own way. The European Union needs to stop stalling us," stated Prime Minister Erdoğan.
The prime minister went on to recall a time when he proposed that Turkey enter the Shanghai Five and said, "We have a strong economy. I told Russian President Mr. Putin, 'You should include us in the Shanghai Five and we will say farewell to the European Union.' The Shanghai Five is much better off economic-wise. It is much more powerful. We told them if you say come, we will. Pakistan wants to join as does India. They have also made requests. We could all join together. In terms of population and markets, this organization significantly surpasses the European Union in every way," stated Erdoğan.
