Recently, the most surprising guest at the BRICS organization meeting in Kazan, Russia, was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey is a member country of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), so many European countries objected to the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the BRICS meeting, considered an anti-Western organization.
The BRICS started with just five countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), but last year the BRICS group included four new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It became known as BRICS Plus.
Türkiye has not yet joined the BRICS organization. An article in the German newspaper Bild states that India opposes Türkiye’s accession to the BRICS. The report says that since Türkiye is close to Pakistan, India did not want to be included in this organization.
However, Sinan Alzen, a well-known foreign policy analyst and former Turkish diplomat, has rejected this claim. In a German newspaper article, he was quoted as saying that India has rejected Turkey’s membership in the BRICS.
Sinan said that his statement on the Türkiye diplomatic issue has been distorted in the report.
Türkiye’s presidential office also said there was no discussion on BRICS expansion at the meeting in Kazan, Russia. It was also said on behalf of the Turkish Presidency that India’s opposition to Türkiye’s accession to the BRICS is completely baseless.
German newspaper Bild, quoting Alzen, wrote that India rejected Türkiye’s request to join BRICS. The Bild report cited Alzen as a BRICS member. While Alzen is a former Turkish diplomat who works in a think tank.
Algen said: “It is true that India stays away from Turkey, but if the question of Turkey’s membership was not voted on in the BRICS meeting, then the question of India’s veto does not arise.”
Algen said many other countries, such as India, are also concerned about the rapid expansion of the BRICS and there is still no consensus on this issue.
According to reports, before the 16th BRICS summit, Türkiye had formally applied to join the BRICS. The BRICS have Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as founding members. While Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates have recently been granted a place in it. However, talks on Türkiye’s request have not progressed.
According to the Bild report, the most important factor for Turkey not becoming a member of BRICS was India’s opposition. To include any new country in BRICS, the consent of all member countries is necessary but due to India’s opposition this condition could not be met.
Alzen said Türkiye wants to join the BRICS because it is angry about the delay in Türkiye’s inclusion in the European Union (EU). Türkiye wants to show that if it is not included in the EU, it has other options. It can forge new partnerships besides Western countries.
Algen wrote on platform
Pakistan had also applied to join BRICS.
Pakistan had formally applied for BRICS membership last year. Some senior diplomats of Pakistan also visited many BRICS countries to garner support for joining BRICS. However, despite the support of China and Russia, Pakistan has failed to join the BRICS group. Not even Pakistan has got a place in the list of new partner countries of the BRICS organization. At the same time, Türkiye has been included among the partner countries.
Pakistan had full hope that despite India’s opposition, the doors of BRICS would be opened to it with the support of Russia and China. It was also said that India could also support Pakistan’s membership in the BRICS. However, none of this happened.
