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Turkiye's Interest in Joining BRICS Reflects Its Weakening Confidence in West

19:17, 5 June 2024
© Photo : Russian MFA
Pawan Atri
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NATO member Turkiye's interest in becoming a member of the BRICS has ruffled feathers in geopolitical circles worldwide. Sputnik India examines what could be the reasons behind the country's potential move.
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Turkiye's weakening confidence in the West is behind its desire to join the powerful economic bloc BRICS, a strategic affairs pundit has said.
The remarks of Lieutenant-Colonel (Retd) J.S. Sodhi came in the aftermath of Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirming that the country was looking forward to acceding the bloc.
"Certainly, we would like to become a member of BRICS. So we'll see how it goes this year," Fidan said during his visit to China earlier this week.
Turkiye is on the list of 40 other states who have expressed interest in being part of the organisation after its last summit in South Africa in August 2023.

World Has Confidence in Russia's Leadership

The military veteran underlined that the large waiting list of countries wanting to accede BRICS shows the confidence that the majority of the world has in the leadership of Russia as the USA's hold over the world is weakening due to its economic problems and overstretching itself by taking part directly/indirectly in almost all wars & conflicts in the world since 1776.
Therefore, now the world wants to be part of an alliance where peace and prosperity are assured and the group of countries fits the bill perfectly.

"This shows that this international organization is growing from strength to strength as BRICS offers immense trade and investment opportunities. Yet at the same time, Turkiye's interest in joining BRICS reflects its weakening confidence in the West and the US as the member nations of NATO are tired of taking part in so many wars that have been waged by America which are now pinching their pockets," Sodhi told Sputnik India on Wednesday.

Expansion of BRICS Attractive For Turkiye

For decades the country has worked towards broadening and expanding its foreign policy, especially towards Asia based on economic imperatives and attraction of rising economies like China and India, Dr. Muddassir Quamar, an academic at India's premier Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) emphasized on the other hand.

"Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkiye has also overcome the past hesitation of seeking strategic and economic partnerships outside Europe and NATO. Ankara has also worked meticulously to expand its relations with Middle Eastern states and other Asian countries beyond China and India," he said in a conversation with Sputnik India.

The expansion of BRICS, especially with the Middle Eastern powers joining it, makes it even more attractive for the country, the JNU professor added.
Quamar suggests that this does not mean the country is leaving NATO or will no longer have close issue-based relations with the US and European countries.

"What it underlines is that BRICS is gradually attracting more middle powers, such as Turkiye, who have shunned the idea of being constrained by bloc politics and are pursuing their own strategic and economic interests," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the founding members of the BRICS initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Last year, the group inducted four new members – Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), making it a nine-country bloc. Since then, several countries have expressed their interest in being a part of the organisation.
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