Erdogan says Turkey will deepen ties with East while still facing West

ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey would not stop deepening ties with the East, including the BRICS group of nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), even as it continued to face West.

Turkey, a NATO member, has in recent months voiced interest in joining the BRICS and SCO groups, both of which include China and Russia. This has stirred U.S. and European fears that Turkey may be pivoting away from its traditionally Western geopolitical orientation, despite repeated denials from Ankara.

Speaking at an event in Ankara, Erdogan said debates over an "axis shift" were unfounded, but that Turkey had to adapt to new "centres of power" forming in the fields of economy, production, and technology, while keeping itself open to opportunities with every structure and actor.

"That is the approach that lies behind our country's will to expand the basis of dialogue with all of them, from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to BRICS and ASEAN," Erdogan said.

"Of course, our face is turned to the West, but this certainly does not mean that we will turn our backs on the East, that we will ignore the East, or not improve our ties with the East," he added.

BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. China and Russia, in particular, want to expand the group further as they seek to counter Western economic dominance.

The SCO is a security, political and economic club launched by Moscow, Beijing and Central Asian states in 2001 as a counterweight to Western alliances.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Gareth Jones)