What happened to Türkiye’s BRICS membership?

Despite the considerable excitement surrounding Turkey’s potential BRICS membership, the outcome has yielded little of substance.

Alongside Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, Turkey has been designated merely as a “partner” within BRICS.

The anticipated full membership, which sparked debates about a possible shift away from the West, failed to materialize.

It appears that the three dominant powers in BRICS—China, India, and Russia—could not reach a consensus on Turkey’s potential contributions or liabilities, likely seeking to maintain the current balance of power.

BRICS membership resembles EU accession process

Turkey’s experience with BRICS somehow resembles its long-standing EU accession process. Unlike the recently admitted BRICS full members such as the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia, Turkey finds itself in a lesser category.

At the last moment, a long-discussed proposal by Russia to position Turkey as a virtual natural gas hub was tabled, though it lacks feasibility under present circumstances.

In conclusion, Türkiye’s BRICS membership journey has paralleled its EU candidacy. We have been relegated to a waiting room alongside nations like Belarus, Cuba, and Bolivia.

Ultimately, the final decision regarding our status will rest with the three major powers, along with Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia.

In my view, this situation has resulted in a significant loss of diplomatic prestige.

It would have been preferable to avoid such a predicament.

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The debate over Türkiye’s BRICS bid

In September, Bloomberg published a report claiming that Türkiye had submitted an application to join BRICS.

Notably, this news emerged just four days after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attended the European Union’s Gymnich meeting, his first invitation to the forum in five years.

Following the report, Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Putin, confirmed Türkiye’s application for full membership on September 4.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also expressed their openness to supporting similar partnership arrangements within the BRICS cooperation framework.

Subsequently, AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik confirmed that Türkiye’s bid for BRICS membership remained active and the process was continuing.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s attendance at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, from October 22-24, sparked speculation that Türkiye’s membership might be approved during the meeting. However, the summit concluded with a decision to grant “partner” status to all 13 countries that had applied for full membership.

In the aftermath of the summit, rumors circulated that India had vetoed Türkiye’s BRICS membership due to the country’s close ties with Pakistan. Indian authorities promptly refuted these claims. In a briefing note to Euronews, Indian officials emphasized that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “warmly welcomed the new members to the family” and “expressed satisfaction with the expanded summit.”

BRICS has recently expanded to include Iran, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Alongside Türkiye, other countries expressing interest in membership include Malaysia, Thailand, and Azerbaijan.

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