Erdogan's Attendance at BRICS Summit Confirmed by Moscow
The Turkish president is set to meet with BRICS leaders in Russia following Ankara's reported application for membership in the economic group. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accepted an invitation from the Kremlin to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, next month, as reported by Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov on Tuesday.
“The proposal was conveyed to the Turkish side, [and] Erdogan accepted it,” Ushakov informed the Interfax news agency.
This announcement follows Bloomberg's report on Monday indicating that Türkiye had applied for BRICS membership. The report states that Ankara submitted the application “some months ago,” in part due to “rifts” with NATO allies over the Ukraine conflict.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Omer Celik, spokesperson for Erdogan’s ruling AK party, confirmed that the application process is “ongoing.” While he did not specify when Türkiye submitted its application, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan mentioned in June that Ankara aimed to join the bloc and discussed the possibility with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Türkiye stands as the first NATO member state to seek membership in the non-Western BRICS group.
Since its inception as an acronym in 2001, BRICS has evolved into an informal alliance surpassing the US-led G7 in global GDP share. It has established its own development bank and expanded from its original four members—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—to nine, which now include South Africa, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Although Erdogan has participated in previous BRICS summits, this will be his first attendance as a prospective member. Earlier this year, unnamed Turkish officials shared with Middle East Eye that tensions with the European Union had compelled Ankara to seek alternative economic partners.
“We don’t see BRICS as an alternative to NATO or the EU,” one official remarked. “However, the stalled accession process to the European Union encourages us to explore other economic platforms.”
Additionally, the official noted that while NATO’s other 31 member states are “on-paper allies” of Türkiye, they often overlook Ankara’s security concerns and deny it access to the latest military equipment.
“We would like to be part of every multilateral platform, even if there is only a slight chance of benefit to us,” the official clarified.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Erdogan’s office had not confirmed his attendance at the Kazan summit, which is scheduled for October 22-24 in southwestern Russia.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
“The proposal was conveyed to the Turkish side, [and] Erdogan accepted it,” Ushakov informed the Interfax news agency.
This announcement follows Bloomberg's report on Monday indicating that Türkiye had applied for BRICS membership. The report states that Ankara submitted the application “some months ago,” in part due to “rifts” with NATO allies over the Ukraine conflict.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Omer Celik, spokesperson for Erdogan’s ruling AK party, confirmed that the application process is “ongoing.” While he did not specify when Türkiye submitted its application, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan mentioned in June that Ankara aimed to join the bloc and discussed the possibility with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Türkiye stands as the first NATO member state to seek membership in the non-Western BRICS group.
Since its inception as an acronym in 2001, BRICS has evolved into an informal alliance surpassing the US-led G7 in global GDP share. It has established its own development bank and expanded from its original four members—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—to nine, which now include South Africa, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Although Erdogan has participated in previous BRICS summits, this will be his first attendance as a prospective member. Earlier this year, unnamed Turkish officials shared with Middle East Eye that tensions with the European Union had compelled Ankara to seek alternative economic partners.
“We don’t see BRICS as an alternative to NATO or the EU,” one official remarked. “However, the stalled accession process to the European Union encourages us to explore other economic platforms.”
Additionally, the official noted that while NATO’s other 31 member states are “on-paper allies” of Türkiye, they often overlook Ankara’s security concerns and deny it access to the latest military equipment.
“We would like to be part of every multilateral platform, even if there is only a slight chance of benefit to us,” the official clarified.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Erdogan’s office had not confirmed his attendance at the Kazan summit, which is scheduled for October 22-24 in southwestern Russia.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
