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Erdogan seeks deeper SCO ties at Bishkek summit

Turkish president highlights organisation's potential for regional peace and security

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

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Erdogan said the organisation could play a role not only in ensuring peace and stability, but also in establishing secure transport corridors. / Anadolu Agency

What this story says

  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
  • Erdogan stated that Turkey seeks to deepen cooperation with the SCO, which he called a 'rising star'.
  • He said the organisation can contribute to regional peace, secure transport corridors, and energy security.
  • Erdogan met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the summit.

Who covered it

Left 31%(8)Centre 27%(8)Right 42%(11)

Percentages are shares of the 27 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 60 of the 87 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

59/100

Hype

41/100

87 sources · methodology

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. During the summit, Erdogan stated that Turkey aims to deepen its cooperation with the organisation, describing it as a 'rising star'. He indicated that the SCO has the potential to contribute to peace, secure transport corridors, and energy security.

On the sidelines of the summit, Erdogan held bilateral meetings with other leaders. He met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Some reports also indicate that Erdogan met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Coverage comparison

What the coverage left out

None of the centre or right-rated reports mentioned that President Erdogan also met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Coverage settled. We checked this 8 times and stopped on 6 Sept 2026, 22:30. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

8 rated outlets

  • The left-rated digests agree that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek and stated Turkey was not abandoning the West while pursuing closer ties with the SCO. All seven led on Erdogan’s remarks about maintaining relations with both blocs.
  • Five digests carried Erdogan’s comment that Turkey would consider full SCO membership. Three included the Kremlin’s statement that his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin would cover Black Sea and Ukraine issues. None mentioned China’s role in the summit beyond the SCO framework.
  • The digests quoted Erdogan’s remarks to journalists on his return flight and the Kremlin’s statement on the Putin-Erdogan meeting. No other voices were cited. The Toronto Star, The Record, and St Catharines Standard used identical wording in their digests.

Centre

8 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated report led on President Erdogan's statement about deepening cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. It highlighted his description of the SCO as a 'rising star' and his views on its potential contributions to peace, secure transport corridors, and energy security. The report also noted Erdogan's attendance at the summit in Bishkek.

Right

11 rated outlets

  • Six right-rated digests led on President Erdogan's statements regarding Turkey's intention to develop relations with the SCO and his description of the organisation as a 'rising star'. These digests also mentioned Erdogan's attendance at the Bishkek summit. Six of the six right-rated digests reported that Erdogan met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the summit. One digest noted that the meeting between Erdogan and Aliyev focused on cooperation and peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Erdogan seeks deeper SCO ties at Bishkek summit?
Of the 27 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 31% are rated left, 27% are rated centre, 42% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 87. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Erdogan seeks deeper SCO ties at Bishkek summit left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 27 rated outlets on this story, 31% are rated left, 27% are rated centre, 42% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Erdogan seeks deeper SCO ties at Bishkek summit biased?
Erdogan seeks deeper SCO ties at Bishkek summit is one event reported by 87 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Erdogan seeks deeper SCO ties at Bishkek summit?
87 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What did President Erdogan say about the SCO?
President Erdogan described the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a 'rising star' and stated that Turkey seeks to deepen its cooperation with the bloc. He indicated that the SCO can contribute to peace, secure transport corridors, and energy security.
Where did the SCO summit take place?
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of State Summit took place in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Who did President Erdogan meet with at the summit?
On the sidelines of the summit, President Erdogan met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Some reports also state that he met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Read it at the source

87 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

8

Centre

8

Right

11
Show 3 more

Not rated

60
Show 52 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

How Erdogan’s SCO summit played in left, centre and right media | MediaBias News