Ankara, Sep 19 (FN Agency) Turkey considers BRICS as an alternative to economic integration with the European Union, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency in an interview published on Thursday. “We consider BRICS as an alternative economic platform. If our economic integration with the European Union had been crowned with membership, perhaps we would not be in such a quest on many issues,” the minister said. Fidan added that Turkey is interested not only in joining BRICS, but in cooperation with other organizations, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He also pointed out that Turkey is a member and founder of a number of other economic organizations, including the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, which proves that Turkey’s economic interests are not limited to cooperation with the EU or BRICS.
Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987 and has been a candidate since 1999. Accession negotiations started in 2005. In 2016, the European Parliament called for the suspension of accession talks with Ankara, citing human rights and rule of law concerns. As of 2024, the full membership negotiations are effectively frozen. At the beginning of September, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that Turkey had applied for full membership in BRICS, which would be considered by the member-states. President Erdogan also accepted an invitation to participate in the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24. Established in 2009, BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Russia took the rotating presidency of the BRICS group in 2024. Russia is chairing BRICS under the motto “Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security”. In 2024, Russia is going to hold over 200 events of different levels and types in Russian cities.