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ANKARA — Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party confirmed Tuesday that Ankara formally applied to the China-led BRICS group.
“Our president has already expressed multiple times that we wish to become a member of BRICS,” party spokesperson Omer Celik told journalists during a press conference. “Our request in this matter is clear, and the process is proceeding within this framework.”
The remarks came in response to an earlier report by Bloomberg that NATO member Turkey formally applied to the bloc several months ago.
Celik said that the application has yet to see any concrete outcome. “We will share with you if there is any assessment or decision by BRICS regarding the membership,” he said.
Discussions over Turkey’s potential membership in the bloc have ramped up following Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to China in June. After China, Fidan also attended the BRICS+ summit in Russia in June.
While neither Fidan nor the ministry has officially confirmed Turkey’s formal bid to join BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he “welcomed” Turkey’s interest in the bloc during a June 11 meeting with the top Turkish diplomat on the sidelines of the summit.
Outgoing US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake at the time expressed his hope that Turkey would not join the group, but said that Turkey’s potential membership would not derail its alignment with NATO and the West.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expressed his country’s desire to join BRICS for the first time in 2018 while he was attending the China-led bloc’s summit in South Africa, but the issue was put on a back burner.
Turkey’s formal application comes amid Ankara’s growing frustration with the European Union and as it seeks to diversify its trade and examine options outside the European bloc. Ankara’s dismay has been building with the EU, its largest trade partner, over the pending resumption of the modernization of the Customs Union Treaty between the group and Ankara.
The bloc, which was founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in 2009, added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in January, doubling its membership and including Middle Eastern countries for the first time.
More than 30 countries have applied to join the alliance, according to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait and Tunisia are also reportedly interested.
