Türkiye, a member of the NATO military alliance led by the US, announced that it wants to join the group of leading emerging economies in the world (BRICS).
Speaking to the press today (June 4) while on a 3-day trip to China, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that his country has long been waiting to be admitted to the Union. European Union (EU). However, after years of facing opposition from some EU member states, Ankara now sees BRICS as an alternative platform for integration.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (left) at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on June 4. Photo: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
BRICS initially included only Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. However, earlier this year, the group added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The expanded BRICS group now accounts for about 30% of the global economy and 45% of the world’s total population. The group also accounts for more than 40% of the world’s oil production.
At an event at the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) in Beijing on June 4, Mr. Fidan expressed his desire to attend the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers scheduled to take place next week. in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod.
According to RT, Moscow has welcomed Türkiye’s interest in joining BRICS. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the issue of admitting Türkiye will be included on the agenda of the group’s conference next week. Russia is holding the rotating presidency of BRICS this year.
However, Mr. Peskov noted, BRICS may not be able to satisfy all the concerns of countries wishing to join the group, but will try to maintain contact with them.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov affirmed that the doors of BRICS are always open to representatives of “the most diverse economic, political and macro-regional systems”. According to Mr. Lavrov, the only condition for becoming a member of the group is a commitment to act on the basis of the key principle of sovereign equality between countries.