Russia welcomes Türkiye’s interest in BRICS

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Tuesday said it welcomed Türkiye’s interest in the BRICS economic bloc.

“We, of course, all welcome the increased interest in BRICS on the part of our neighbors, including such important partners as Türkiye,” Kremlin spokesman 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.

On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed his country’s pursuit of new opportunities for cooperation with different partners in platforms like BRICS during an official visit to China, further saying he will attend the bloc's foreign ministers meeting in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on June 10-11.

BRICS is a bloc of emerging economies, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and recently admitted Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as full members.