By Athena Papakosta

OR Turkey becomes its first member NATO who wishes to join their group BRICSled by the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin and the president of China, Xi Jinping.

The representative of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Omer Celikconfirmed yesterday, Tuesday, that “the process is ongoing” and added that Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “has openly stated that Turkey wants to participate in all these important platforms, including BRICS.”

It was preceded by his article Bloomberg, according to which Turkey has formally submitted a request to join the coalition of countries it projects as a formidable rival to the G7 group of developed countries.

In more detail, the BRICS+ group is an economic group in which the main emerging economies participate. It was first formed in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China.

South Africa has been a member since 2010, while now it includes Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. A few weeks ago, Azerbaijan also submitted an application to join BRICS+.

The discussion about Turkey’s possible accession to the bloc had intensified again since last June, and more specifically after the visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan in China but also in Russia where he participated in the work of the group meeting.

It may be that neither Fidan himself, nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, had officially confirmed Ankara’s interest in becoming a member of BRICS, but the President of Russia had welcomed the fact during his meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the group work on 11 June.

Accordingly, a few years ago, in 2018, when the Recep Tayyip Erdoganhad himself participated in a BRICS+ meeting, the Russian president had again referred to Turkey’s possible inclusion in the coalition.

As analysts note, Ankara seems to wish to play the game of maneuvers, on the one hand turning its interest beyond its traditional allies in the Western camp, and on the other under the threat of exerting influence in other geographical zones and with other geopolitical interests to put pressure on its partners for what it aspires to.

“This is not a strategy to replace the West but a strategy to strengthen relations with non-Western powers at a time when the hegemony of the United States is declining,” Sinan Ulgen, head of the EDAM think tank, told Newsweek, adding that the motivation for inclusion is Ankara’s strategic autonomy but also Turkey’s long-standing frustration with its stalled European perspective.

“Turkey is a country like any other to decide what is best for it in terms of alliances and cooperation,” was the first reaction of the European Union through the representative of the Commission, responsible for foreign affairs , Peter Stano.

However, the question remains the reaction of United States with Washington, as Michalis Ignatiou reported in the SKAI main bulletin, is already aware of Turkey’s intention to join the BRICS.