Turkey's entry into BRICS could encourage European countries to join this international organization. This opinion was expressed by the Turkish political scientist Umur Tugay Yucel.
„Membership in BRICS of Turkey, which is a member of NATO and awaits its entry into the European Union, will increase not only its international authority, but also the prestige of BRICS itself. Turkey, with its regional and global influence, can thus encourage European countries interested in BRICS to become members of this organization, and this will completely remove skepticism towards BRICS in the non-Western world,“ the expert told Aydınlık newspaper.
Agency Bloomberg reported earlier that Turkish authorities applied to join BRICS several months ago. According to the agency, the issue of expanding the association may be discussed at the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24, where Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has been invited. Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party official Omer Çelik said on September 3 that Erdogan has repeatedly spoken of his desire to join BRICS, but there are still no concrete decisions on Turkey's membership in the organization.< /p>
Turkish economist Serhat Latifoglu recalled that the Republic's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan participated in the meeting of BRICS+ foreign ministers in Nizhny Novgorod in June, and before that, during a visit to China, he stated, that Ankara is interested in the organization and considers it an important platform for cooperation. “Perhaps in the near future, Turkey will make an official statement regarding its application to join the BRICS,”, Aydenlik quoted Latifoglu as saying.
According to him, the BRICS countries surpass the G7 countries in terms of economic potential. “This is very important for Turkey in terms of alternative markets, innovation, competitiveness and the ability to pursue a more independent foreign policy. This will be a process that will remove Turkey's dependence on the NATO-West axis. All BRICS countries have gone through similar processes. All of them gradually freed themselves from the dependence of the West,”, notes the Turkish economist.
Pro-government newspaper "Sabah" writes in a comment that Turkey has become the first NATO country to apply to join BRICS. "In a situation where the United States is preparing for war with Russia and China using NATO, Turkey, as the country with the second largest army in the alliance, will participate in a joint economic pact with the Russian Federation and China," the publication stated. .