The BRICS countries have offered Turkey the status of a partner country – reports Reuters

Regarding membership status (in BRICS), Turkey partner status was offered, Omer Bolat said on Wednesday in an interview with the private broadcaster tvnet. As he explained, such status is a “transitional process” in the organizational structure of the BRICS group. He did not specify whether Ankara accepted this proposal.

The status of BRICS partner countries includes, among others: Belarus, Bolivia, IndonesiaMalaysia, Nigeria, Thailand and Vietnam.

Türkiye, member NATOhas in recent months expressed interest in joining the BRICS group of countries, which includes: Russia, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt and United Arab Emirates – recalled the Reuters agency. She added that the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan took part in the recent BRICS leaders' summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The summit was held in the capital of Tatarstan, Kazan, under the chairmanship of President Vladimir Putin. This meeting – as previously reported by CNN – “sheds some new light on countries that hope to see changes in the global balance of power, and some of them – such as Russia, Iran and China – would like to directly oppose the West under the leadership of the United States “.

Türkiye was invited to the summit after the authorities in Ankara announced that they were taking formal steps to join the group. During the summit, a declaration was adopted on the introduction of a new category of countries cooperating with the organization, a “BRICS partner country”.

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At the end of October, during a government meeting, Erdogan said that Ankara sees the BRICS group as an opportunity for further economic cooperation with member states, and not as an alternative to ties with the West and NATO membership.

Turkish officials have also repeatedly argued that their country's potential membership in BRICS will not affect Turkey's obligations towards NATO.

A politician from Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party previously told Reuters that partner country status would not meet Turkey's demands for BRICS membership.

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As reported by AP, Omar Bolat denied claims that India blocked Turkey's full membership in BRICS due to Ankara's close ties with Pakistan.

According to the AP, Erdogan, who has been in power for over twenty years, “has tried to develop a more independent Turkish foreign policy and increase its influence in the world.” “The NATO member state is frustrated by the lack of progress in membership negotiations with the European Union,” said the American agency.