Ukraine's proposal for NATO membership is not a question "to be rushed," President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said in an interview with NBC News during a visit to New York for the participation in the UN General Assembly.

"These are not questions to be rushed. […] And when making our minds, when we are taking our decisions, we always take into consideration the stance of other NATO member states, we discuss those possible questions around the table and make the final decision accordingly," he said.

The Turkish head of state said that the U.S. and other members of the Western alliance "don't want Ukraine to be a member state."

He said he would consider the position of other members of the alliance.

"We are going to follow the developments, the deliberations, and reach a final decision accordingly. These are not decisions to be rushed in an excited way," Erdoğan said.

He also said that relations between his country and Russia were "expanding."

"Our relations with Russia are multi dimensional, political, economic, cultural, defense industry related. There are many dimensions, dimensions there and our solidarity, our interaction, has been going on and economically every day, these relations are expanding," Erdoğan said.