Türkiye’s top diplomat was in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod on Tuesday for a BRICS+ meeting on the margins of a convention of foreign ministers of the bloc. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held bilateral talks with his counterparts from the group, from Russia’s Sergey Lavrov to China’s Wang Yi, as well as Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. In an address to the meeting, he emphasized the importance of the bloc's "diversity" and their "valuable" cooperation while reiterating Ankara's efforts for reforms in other international bodies, such as the United Nations.
Fidan arrived in Russia on Monday for a two-day visit.
Russia assumed the chairmanship of BRICS from South Africa as of Jan. 1, adopting the theme, "Strengthening multilateralism for fair global development and security." The 16th BRICS summit is planned to be held in Kazan on Oct. 22-24.
Last week, Russia welcomed Türkiye's reported interest in joining the BRICS, the Kremlin spokesperson said, saying the subject would be on the agenda of the organization's next summit. "We, of course, all welcome the increased interest in BRICS on the part of our neighbors, including such important partners as Türkiye,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a press briefing in Moscow. Expressing that Türkiye's interest in the bloc will be on the agenda of the BRICS summit to be chaired by Russia, Peskov said the organization is unlikely to fully satisfy the interest of all countries wishing to join. "But BRICS is interested in maintaining contacts with all interested states. For this purpose, various formats for maintaining contacts are now being thought through. This is a process extended over time. But we welcome such keen interest,” he added.
When asked whether Türkiye would want to join BRICS during a talk at the Center for China and Globalization during a visit to BRICS member China last week, Fidan said, "We would like to, of course. Why would we not?" a report from Reuters indicated. However, he did not elaborate further. Anadolu Agency (AA) quoted Fidan as saying that while Türkiye was in a customs union with Brussels, it was also exploring new opportunities for cooperation with several partners in different platforms, such as BRICS, and that he would attend a planned meeting of the group next week in Russia.
It was not immediately clear whether Ankara would take steps to join the BRICS group, as Ankara has not previously stated its desire to join formally.
BRICS is a bloc of emerging economies, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and recently admitted Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as full members.
In his meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting, Fidan discussed bilateral and regional affairs and economic issues “of interest to Türkiye,” Turkish diplomatic sources said. Two diplomats also discussed the latest situation in Gaza amid the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov informed Fidan of Russia’s priorities in BRICS during their meeting as well as Russia’s assessment of the latest situation in Ukraine. The Russian side also highlighted the need to resolve any outstanding issues between their countries, expand bilateral ties and find “beneficial grounds of interaction.”
As it assumed a growing role in international affairs in the past two decades, Türkiye seeks more cooperation opportunities and juggles delicate diplomacy without offending friends while looking to make new ones. Along with BRICS, it is in close dialogue with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), whose major members are similar to those of BRICS.
Turkish officials often highlight that Türkiye’s good relations with Russia and China, and exploration of new alliances in Asia and beyond should not be viewed as a response to Western alliances disappointing them. Türkiye is among the strongest members of NATO and maintains good relations with Russia’s adversary, Ukraine. It also seeks membership in the European Union (EU), which supports Ukraine against Russia, although the bloc repeatedly hindered its accession.
Addressing the BRICS+ meeting, Fidan said they valued their cooperation with the bloc and that the diversity of BRICS was an important instrument to elevate development and stability.
The minister reiterated that the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution for a cease-fire, a positive yet “insufficient” step, stressing, “We cannot talk about security of neither Israel nor Palestine without achieving a two-state solution.”
Fidan stated that what happened before the eyes of the world in the past eight months in Gaza has indicated an erosion of norms and values and that international order cannot be allowed to be maintained through “double standards.” Türkiye had repeatedly criticized the West, an “advocate of freedoms and human rights,” for supporting Israel’s war crimes targeting innocent Palestinians.
“More cooperation and diplomacy, less conflict should prevail in international relations,” he said.
Fidan said that under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s motto, “the world is bigger than five” (in reference to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council), Türkiye exerted efforts for reforms in the council, the U.N. and other multilateral organizations.
The minister highlighted “an era of high turbulence” in global affairs.
“The global economy resists in the post-pandemic period and the geoeconomic outlook is weak. We are still facing high inflation. The fragile situation prevails and geopolitical tensions may further escalate,” he warned.
He also said: “The rules-based international system has proven to be inadequate in providing a balanced and fast solution to the challenges."
As an example, he pointed out the crisis in Gaza since October 2023.
“Because of the hypocrisy and strategic blindness of the few, more than 36,000 Palestinians died, millions have been displaced and the Gaza Strip is on the brink of complete destruction,” he stated.
