FM links BRICS ties to EU bid stalemate

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has drawn a connection between Türkiye's growing relations with the BRICS group of emerging economies and the country's long-stalled membership talks with the European Union.

“If our economic integration with the European Union had been crowned with membership, perhaps we would not be in such a quest on many issues,” Fidan told state-run Anadolu Agency in the capital Ankara on Sept. 19.

His remarks came during a discussion on Türkiye's relations with BRICS.

“While membership relations cannot move forward due to lack of will, on the other hand, there are things we need to do with the candidate country status,” he said, referring to steps that should be taken both commercially and politically.

"But in recent years, some subjective approaches, the efforts of some EU countries to make their own issues the subject of the EU, have brought the EU's agenda on Türkiye down a bit."

Ankara is considering to "bring this back to normal and further consolidate our already existing functioning, especially in areas such as trade, economy, visa, education and culture," Fidan added.

The country's accession process, which has been largely stalled since 2016, was thrust back into the spotlight after Erdoğan made the recommencement of the country's membership talks a prerequisite for ratifying Sweden's NATO bid.

The Turkish top diplomat said some EU countries unfairly treat Türkiye due to concerns about losing ground to the far right.

“You lost a huge strategic advantage in return,” he stated.

“You lost the ability to withstand international crises. You have lost the ability to be 100 percent riveted with a major ally, or at least you are delaying it."

The formal negotiations started between Türkiye and the EU for the former’s joining the 27-member club in 2005, but the process has de facto been suspended by Brussels.

Türkiye has long described it as a political decision and calls on the bloc to adopt a fairer approach towards Ankara.

BRICS, originally formed in 2006 as "BRIC" by Brazil, Russia, India and China, was expanded in 2010 with the inclusion of South Africa.

It aims to bring together the world's most significant developing countries to challenge the economic and political dominance of North America and western Europe.

Azerbaijan also submitted a formal application to join the alliance last month, a move that has been welcomed by Russia.

Fidan joined a BRICS summit in western Russia's Nizhny Novgorod on June 11. He held talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines of the event and later President Vladimir Putin in a closed-door meeting.