Turkey may become the first NATO country in the BRICS group
This event reflects the political, economic and, at the same time, symbolic choice of our strategic partner, with whom Ukraine concluded an agreement on a free trade zone on the eve of a full-scale war. The Turkish government, represented by the Justice and Development Party, confirmed that Ankara has officially submitted an application to join the BRICS group. This was reported by the American publication Al-Monitor, which specializes in issues of the Middle East and North Africa (https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/09/turkey-nato-member-submits-formal-application-join -brics What country is this publication from?).
“Our president has repeatedly expressed his desire to become a BRICS member,” – party spokesman Omer Celik told journalists during a press conference. “Our application in this matter is clear, and the process is moving in this direction.”
The statements came in response to previously published information by Bloomberg that Turkey, a member of NATO, submitted a formal application to the bloc several months ago. Celik noted that there have been no concrete results on the application yet. “We will let you know if there is any BRICS assessment or decision on membership,” he added.
The discussion of Turkey’s potential membership in the bloc intensified after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to China in June. After China, Fidand also attended the BRICS+ summit in Russia in June.
While neither Fidan nor the ministry has officially confirmed Turkey’s formal application to join BRICS, Putin said he “welcomes” Turkey’s interest in the bloc during a meeting with Turkey’s top diplomat on June 11 on the sidelines of the summit. At the time, US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake expressed hope that Turkey would not join BRICS and at the same time emphasized that Turkey’s membership would not disrupt its orientation towards NATO and the West.
Turkish sources report that Ankara made its choice amid growing disillusionment with the European Union, a candidate for membership for 25 years (https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/cy54v7rxledo). The decision to join another bloc in Turkey was made due to the desire to diversify its trade and consider relevant options outside the European bloc.
Turkey’s disillusionment with the European Union was not sudden. It has been increasing for the past six years. President Erdoğan has repeatedly said that he will no longer tolerate new demands or conditions on the accession process. A year ago, before the opening of the autumn session of the Turkish parliament, he said that his country had fulfilled all the commitments it had made to the European Union, but the EU almost did not keep its promises. Erdogan’s anger was sparked by a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which found the conviction of teacher Yuksel Yalcinkay, who was convicted of using the ByLock messaging encryption app allegedly used by the organizers of the 2016 coup attempt, to be illegal. Erdogan said that the ECtHR’s decision was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” and stressed that Turkey will not back down in its fight against this “group of traitors”.
Erdogan spoke about BRICS for the first time in 2018, while attending the bloc’s summit in South Africa. Then the Turkish president was present precisely as the “chairman of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation”, but after the summit this issue was postponed.
Cooperation between Turkey and BRICS intensified in 2024. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited China for the first time in June 2024, and then held various contacts in Russia for the BRICS summit. Addressing the BRICS+ session participants, Fidan said: “We value our cooperation with BRICS. We believe that diversity in BRICS is an important tool for increasing development and stability.”
What is BRICS?
The name of the organization consists of the first letters of the names of the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It is an organization that arose as an alternative to the unilateral economic cooperation of the West and is aimed at both economic and cultural cooperation between member countries. The term “BRICS” was first used in 2001 in the report “Building a better BRICS global economy”, prepared by Jim O’Neill, chairman of the board of directors of the American investment bank Goldman Sachs.
The BRICS countries cover approximately 45 percent of the world’s population. The economic power of the member countries is 28.5 trillion dollars, which is approximately 28% of the world economy. The BRICS countries produce 44% of the world’s crude oil production, underscoring their influence on global energy markets.
The block shows a constant tendency to expand. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined the alliance this year. It is also known that Azerbaijan officially applied for BRICS membership after the meeting of President Aliyev with Putin in Baku.
Despite the invitation, Saudi Arabia has yet to join the group. Argentina withdrew its bid after Javier Miley was elected president.
Why did Turkey apply to BRICS and how could it affect Ukraine?
Recently, the Turkish economy has been affected by a number of negative factors, such as the pandemic and devastating earthquakes. The Russian-Ukrainian war also seriously affected her condition. To overcome the economic crisis, Ankara obviously needed new approaches and solutions.
BBC Türkçe, commenting on Ankara’s application for membership in the alliance, emphasizes, first of all, the opportunities that BRICS provides to countries suffering from economic difficulties. In particular, he recalls the establishment of the Development Bank, which supports new infrastructure projects.
However, in addition to the economic direction, BRICS also has a distinct political color, at least this functionality is given to the group by Russia, which currently chairs BRICS. It is trying with all its might to attract as many countries as possible to the alliance, as it seeks to demonstrate to the West an alternative “collective” force. Although the “puzzle” of the BRICS group has not yet been completed, it is obvious that the countries that have recently sought membership in it plan to use this opportunity in their positions on the international political arena. The same applies to Turkey, which maintains relations and recently strengthened ties with Russia, being a NATO country. From Turkish resources are known, that the Kremlin is preparing President Putin’s visit to Turkey, which “has been on the agenda for a long time.”
The idea of reformatting the global world order, changing the “dominant West” to a more flexible geopolitical structure, which includes the representation of all continents (especially Africa) and Muslim countries, has long been promoted by Turkey under the slogan “the world is more than five”. Erdoğan coined this slogan and uses it on various domestic and international platforms as an expression of his frustration with the UN system and his vision of a more functional and representative United Nations.
Currently, Turkey, given its serious economic problems and the need for new partners and investments, is considering BRICS as an alternative to the IMF and a platform for establishing trade relations. Despite the internal dynamics and diversity of interests of the BRICS member countries, Turkey has the potential to use this bloc to expand its markets at the expense of the Global South. Turkey’s accession to BRICS should not threaten Ukraine if Ankara does not use the platform to circumvent sanctions against Russia. However, this seems unlikely, as the new alliance opens up much more favorable market opportunities for Turkey than it can get from Russian equipment.
