Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan participates in the BRICS+ session of the two-day BRICS foreign ministers’ summit held in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia on June 11, 2024.
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The Eurasian nation of 85 million is making increasing strides in influence and leverage on the global stage, as Turkey’s bid to join the BRICS alliance is both a strategic and symbolic move.
At the beginning of September, the spokesperson of Turkey’s leading AK Party told journalists that “Our president has already stated many times that we want to become a member of BRICS.” Our demand on this matter is clear and the process is going on within this framework.
BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is a group of emerging market countries seeking to deepen their economic ties. Four new members joined it this year: Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE.
Although it lacks a formal structure, enforcement mechanisms and uniform rules and standards, it is seen as a counterweight to Western-led organizations such as the EU, the G7 and even NATO.
For Turkey, a long-time Western ally and NATO member since 1952, joining BRICS is in line with its broader geopolitical journey: to position itself as an independent actor in a multipolar world and even become a pole in its own right. It’s true,” George Dyson, principal analyst at Control Risks, told CNBC.
“It doesn’t mean that Turkey has completely turned its back on the West,” Dyson added, “but Turkey wants to develop as many trade relationships as possible and to get opportunities unilaterally without borders with the West. It’s definitely symbolic with Turkey. That’s what it shows – with the West.” that it is not limited by good relations”.
Diversified alliances
Despite decades of solidarity with Europe and the United States, Turkey has faced persistent rejection of EU membership, a long-standing sore point for Ankara.
Ambassador Matthew Bryza, a former official of the White House and State Department, who is currently in Istanbul, said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government are motivated “mainly by two factors: the strategic tradition of ensuring national interests… and one. A desire to scare the West a little, both because of emotional grudge and as a negotiation tactic to make concessions.
CNBC has contacted the Turkish presidency for comment.
Turkey has expanded its role in global diplomacy in the past few years, brokering prisoner exchange deals and leading other talks between Ukraine and Russia, for example, while mending previously strained relations with regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and most recently. , Egypt.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shook hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a joint press conference in Sochi, Russia on September 4, 2023.
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Ankara also refuses to participate in sanctions against Russia – a stance that has angered its Western allies but helps it maintain its independent position as a “middle power” that it sees as useful for its relations with China and the Global South.
To this end, “any new member of the BRICS would obviously be eager to take advantage of a stronger ‘union’ of emerging economies, mainly to reduce their dependence on the United States,” said Arda Tunca, an independent economist and consultant based in Turkey. he said. .
Stand against the West?
However, Tunca noted that Turkey’s unique position in the world is a “delicate point of discussion” as the country has “serious political problems with the EU and the US” despite its Western alliances.
The ruling party of Turkey, which has been ruling the country for 22 years, is “ideologically closer to the East than the West,” Tunca said. “Turkey wanted to get on the BRICS train before it’s too late. It is too early to say that BRICS can be an alternative to the West, but it is clear that the intention is to oppose the West under the leadership of China.”
Importantly, being part of BRICS allows its members to trade in currencies other than the dollar. It aims to reduce dependence on the US-led system and open up a more polarized world. China’s leadership is making some in the West wary, who see it as a potential victory for Beijing.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (not seen) is greeted by President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China during the 11th G20 Leaders’ Summit in Hangzhou, China on September 3, 2016.
Mehmet Ali Ozcan Anatolia Agency | Getty Images
“I don’t think their (BRICS) decisions are being implemented, it’s more of a geopolitical thing, a symbolic response to the G7,” Dyson said. He also noted: “It’s interesting that Iran and the UAE are also there. It’s a bit like an anti-West team.”
Although Erdogan has been talking about his desire to join BRICS since at least 2018, this issue has never been formalized. In June, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited both China and Russia, and during the last BRICS+ summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he “welcomed” Turkey’s interest in joining the union.
At that time, the US ambassador to Turkey, Jeff Flake, said in an interview that he hoped Turkey would not join the group, but he did not think it would have a negative impact on Turkey’s alignment with the West.