Her application Turkey for full inclusion in BRICS is based on serious intentions, said the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov adding that “the fact that it is a member of NATO is not a problem”.

In an interview he gave to the Russian RBC TV, in the context of the Eastern Economic Forum in the city of Vladivostok, when asked about Turkey’s intention to join the BRICS, he said: “When the government of a country says it is taking a certain step, I think it is based on serious intentions”.

“Regarding Turkey’s NATO membership, which it has had for almost 70 years, and its status as a candidate country for EU membership, as the Turkish official recently stated, there is no rule that prohibits countries that are members of certain organizations to have relations with the BRICS,” Lavrov said.

The Russian diplomat noted that what is important for BRICS members and for countries developing cooperation with this association is to share the values ​​enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations (UN): equality of countries, non-interference in internal affairs affairs, peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for the independence and territorial integrity of all countries.

“We do not need the values, theories and practices of Nazism that the West defends. We do not need the ban on freedom of expression, national languages, cultures, traditions, the closure of autocephalous churches and other bans.”

Drawing attention to the fact that NATO officials have remained silent on Turkey’s request to join BRICS, Lavrov said: “The Americans have said that it is incompatible with NATO membership. The representative of the European Commission was much clearer. He said that Turkey should realize that EU membership is incompatible with BRICS membership and vice versa. According to what they say, EU accession candidates should participate in a common foreign and security policy. And this is a clear directive to Turkey that if it wants to join the EU it will have to join the anti-Russian sanctions.”

During the BRICS Summit to be held in October in Kazan, Russia, proposals will be made regarding the criteria for joining new members, the minister said, adding:

“We feel the need to streamline relations between BRICS members and countries that are increasingly showing interest in working with this association. There are already more than 30 such countries. This is a true reflection of multipolarity,” he said.

It was previously announced that the BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 20-24 will be attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

If Ankara is accepted as a member, Turkey will be the first NATO country in the BRICS group.

What are BRICS?

The BRICS association was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China and aims at economic cooperation between the countries.

In 2010, South Africa joined this group, while the leaders of the member countries at the BRICS Summit in 2023, which was hosted in South Africa, decided on its expansion. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS on January 1, 2024.

About 45% of the world’s population is in the BRICS

BRICS countries cover about 45% of the world’s population. BRICS (Russia, India, China and South Africa) the five largest countries of the developing world, is an organization that emerged as an alternative to the unilateral economic cooperation of the West and aims at both economic and cultural cooperation between member countries.

The term “BRIC” was first used in 2001 in the report “Building Better Global Economic BRICs” prepared by Jim O’Neill, chairman of the board of Goldman Sachs.