Turkey applies for Brics membership
Turkish President Erdoğan has followed up on his announcement and applied for his country to join the group of Brics states. Dominated by Russia and China, the alliance of emerging economies is seen as a counterweight to the West's G7. Turkey would be the first Nato state to join the Brics group. Europe's press takes a closer look.
Liberation from the West's shackles
The left-wing nationalist Aydınlık sees membership of the Brics as a historic turning point for Turkey:
“It's an important step towards the country freeing itself from the shackles of the West and developing its economy, which has accelerated globally over the last decade. With Brics membership, Turkey takes an important step towards a stronger economy and a more independent foreign policy. The biggest obstacle that could undermine these steps right now is the orthodox neoliberal economic policy which Turkey is pursuing even though it is not subject to IMF conditionality. History has shown that the IMF has not done any country in the world any good. On the contrary, it has plunged these countries into instability, chaos and dependence on the West.”
Russia and China don't talk about human rights
Veteran Turkish columnist Taha Akyol criticises in Karar:
“Not an inch of progress has been made in legal reform, freedoms, the independence of the judiciary or the implementation of the decisions of the ECHR and the Constitutional Court, as required by our constitution. All of this would improve relations with the West and contribute greatly to the economy. In the Brics group, which is under Chinese-Russian patronage, no one talks about issues such as human rights and the rule of law. The government is comfortable with this, but we will see in the coming years that Brics 'membership' is not the way to go. And I fear the damage will be considerable.”
A desperate cry for attention
Diena sees at least two obstacles:
“In contrast to another association of non-Western countries Brics is just an informal club. The formalisation of relations and the development of common criteria (also for the admission of new member states) is expected at the summit in Kazan in October. ... The second obstacle is of course Turkey's relationship with the West and in particular Ankara's participation and key role in the North Atlantic Alliance. ... Moreover, it is unclear how Ankara could get along if it is simultaneously a member of two such organisations. There is no doubt that the Turkish president and other state officials are well aware of all this, but Ankara clearly can't resist the temptations to make another attempt to call attention to itself.”
Mediator in a multipolar world
Erdoğan wants to manoeuvre between the different power blocs, the Tages-Anzeiger explains:
“Turkish foreign policy follows a fairly simple doctrine, which can be summarised in four words: We talk to everyone. ... Turkey would be the first Nato country to join the Brics group. Erdoğan is thus balancing between the blocs, standing shoulder to shoulder with Nato and Ukraine while at the same time cultivating his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. ... Erdoğan has realised that the era of Western dominance is over. In any case, he believes that the West never fully accepted Turkey as one of its own. ... So now he wants to position the country between the blocs, as a mediator in a multipolar world.”