Türkiye seeks to expand strategic reach at BRICS
KAZAN
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joins the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan Wednesday at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. He will meet with the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
But experts said Türkiye's bid to join did not mean it will turn its back on the West, nor on Ukraine, whose top diplomat visited on Monday - let alone NATO.
Erdoğan and Putin will discuss in particular the possibility of creating a gas hub at the BRICS summit this week, TASS has reported, citing a statement of the press service of the Russian president.
The meeting is expected to take place on Oct. 23 on the sidelines of the summit.
The multi-aspect cooperation between Russia and Türkiye is developing dynamically in all the main areas and has a partnering and mutually beneficial nature, the Kremlin said.
"Efficient interaction was established with Turkish partners in the gas sphere. Blue Stream and TurkStream pipelines on the Black Sea bottom are functioning in a stable way,” the press service said.
"Heads of state will also consider the project of creating the international gas hub in the territory of Türkiye as part of the meeting in Kazan,” it added.
Prospects of developing trade and economic ties will be discussed during negotiations, whose volumes stood at $55.4 billion in 2023, the press service noted.
Türkiye said last month it had asked to join the group of emerging market nations. If admitted, it would be the first NATO member in a bloc which sees itself as a counterweight to Western powers.
Most of its members are sharply at odds with the West over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and in the case of Beijing and Moscow, also its stance on the Ukraine war.
BRICS is an acronym for its five founding members although the alliance added four nations this year, three from the Middle East -- including Iran which the West says is supplying Russia with drones to use against Ukraine.
The summit kick-started on Oct. 22 in the city of Kazan and will conclude on Oct. 24.
Modi, Xi - Putin talks
The Kremlin leader wants to use the forum to challenge the West and advance his idea of a "multipolar world" as a bulwark against U.S. "hegemony".
The gathering is the largest diplomatic event in Russia since it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and comes after Putin scrapped plans to attend last year's summit in South Africa after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him.
In a series of bilateral talks on Tuesday, including with Xi and Modi, Putin hailed Moscow's close ties and "strategic partnerships" with its chosen partners.
But concerns over Moscow's Ukraine offensive, grinding through its third year, still loomed over the event.
Modi, who is casting himself as a possible peacemaker, called for a quick end to the conflict during televised talks with Putin.
Xi, meanwhile, praised China's "profound" ties with Russia in what he called a "chaotic" world.
Ties have "injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries", Xi said.
Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation of global "stability."
"Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the stabilising factors in the global arena. We intend to further increase coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order," he told Xi.
The two leaders discussed the conflict in Ukraine behind closed doors, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media, while providing no details.
"There was an exchange of opinions on Ukraine," the spokesman said.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres will meet Putin on Thursday - a visit slammed by Ukraine's foreign ministry.
Guterres's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Tuesday the UN chief planned to meet with a "large number" of the leaders in Kazan.
Asked about talks with Putin, he said Guterres would "reaffirm his well known positions" on the Ukraine conflict and outline "the conditions for just peace."
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