Türkiye’s Quest for New Alliances: The Nation’s Bid to Join BRICS Economic Bloc.
In recent developments, Turkey has formally applied to join the BRICS economic bloc, as reported by Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. This move signifies Türkiye’s attempt to establish new ties beyond its traditional Western allies. Ankara submitted an application to be part of the group “some months ago.
According to the report, strained relations between NATO member Turkey and other alliance members over the Ukraine conflict were among the motivating factors for Turkey’s BRICS application. Since the eruption of tensions between Moscow and Kiev in 2022, Ankara has consistently called for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously criticized his allies for providing military aid to Ukraine and asserted that Turkey would not participate in the ongoing conflict.
Notably, Turkey has managed to maintain close ties with Russia despite the Ukraine crisis, as noted by Bloomberg. Furthermore, the Turkish leadership is reportedly growing increasingly discontented over the lack of progress in its longstanding efforts to join the European Union. Türkiye was designated a candidate country in 1999; however, accession talks were suspended by the European Parliament in 2019 due to alleged human rights violations.
Türkiye’s foreign ministry and presidency have not yet commented on the reported bid for BRICS membership, as per Bloomberg. In June, the country’s top diplomat Hakan Fidan expressed interest in joining the group.
Founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011, the BRICS bloc is currently chaired by Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that Turkey is indeed interested in becoming a member of BRICS. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates joined the group earlier this year.