Turkey Considers Joining BRICS

Turkey has reached out to the BRICS group of major emerging nations that includes Russia and China, in a sign of growing frustration over faltering EU accession talks.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during an interview with HaberTurk TV yesterday evening: “We have relations with the BRICS countries and are holding talks with them, and they are also at an advanced stage. If the European Union had the will to take a step forward, our perspective on some issues would not have been different.”

Ankara has sought to revive its faltering efforts to join the European Union - one of its largest trading partners - while seeking new alliances that could help expand its trillion-dollar economy.

The BRICS group of countries - named after the first letters of the names of its members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - has doubled at the beginning of 2024 with Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt joining it. Other countries intend to join the group, or are considering invitations to join.

Turkey has long been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and has been part of the European defense system. But it has failed to make progress in negotiations with the European Union since the start of accession talks in 2005, as it has faced a series of obstacles that include what the European Union describes as democratic shortcomings in the country.

Fidan said of the European Union: “There is a military alliance within NATO, but the economic alliance has not yet been achieved. Therefore, our search has been ongoing.”

Fidan's statements seem aimed at motivating the European Union to accelerate talks with Turkey at a time when the country is seeking to achieve a delicate balance in an increasingly polarized world.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan Source: AFP/Getty Images