Russia welcomes reports of Türkiye’s desire to join the BRICS

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia welcomes reports of Türkiye’s desire to join the BRICS, adding that the matter will be on the agenda of the next group summit.

Peskov said there was growing interest in the BRICS from several countries, but said the group was unlikely to meet all the wishes of interested countries.

The group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan began a visit to Beijing, the first by Türkiye’s top official to China since 2012, during which he held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other officials.

Asked during a discussion at the China and Globalization Center on Monday whether Türkiye would like to join the BRICS, Fidan said, “Of course we would like that, and why not?”

Fidan added that “Ankara was also looking forward to cooperating with the BRICS countries,” and that he would attend a meeting of the group scheduled for next week in Russia.

It wasn’t immediately clear though whether Ankara would take steps to join the BRICS because it hadn’t previously announced its desire to formally join it.

Türkiye, a NATO member, has come under fire from its allies in the West over the past few years over its ties with Russia, and some said its focus was shifting away from the Western military alliance.

Ankara has rejected the criticism, saying it remains a committed member of the alliance and sticks to the goal of full EU membership.