Nicu Fălcoi: "It is not right that Turkey - NATO member state - requested to become a member of BRICS"

It is not right that Turkey, which is a member state of NATO, requested to become a member of BRICS, even though the last organization is not a military one, but only an economic one, said deputy Nicu Fălcoi (USR), vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO.

Nicu Fălcoi told us: "BRICS is not a military alliance, but an economic one. It is not exactly right that Turkey - as a NATO member state - has applied to become a BRICS member, but at the same time it is not an end of the country. I am sure that there will be discussions on this topic with all major NATO partners and that at the moment the allies are reserved in commenting on the request that the Ankara regime has made regarding the BRICS membership. Turkey has a weirder status within NATO anyway through all the steps it has taken over time, like buying that S-400 air defense system from the Russians, plus the relationship it has had in the conflict in Ukraine, when, although it supplied drones to the Ukrainian forces, it preferred to maintain extremely close economic relations with the Russian Federation. In general, Turkey has had these attitudes because of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has imperialist nostalgia and therefore does everything he can to stand out. Moreover, President Erdogan has a major frustration that Turkey is not accepted in the European Union, and then he tries any other international associations".

The Vice-President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly also told us that the appearance, on September 2, of a news item in the international press regarding Ankara's application for Turkey's accession to BRICS, although the summit where this will be decided, according to sources within the Turkish government this will only take place between October 22-24, it may be an action by President Erdogan to seek concessions from the European Union, NATO or the USA.

Nicu Fălcoi specified: "I do not rule out that by the appearance of this news regarding the accession to BRICS, almost 45 days before the summit that will take place in the Russian Federation, Erdogan in fact aims to obtain some things from the European Union, NATO or US. After all, the Turkish president used such tricks all the time. As you know, the ratification by the Parliament in Ankara of Sweden's accession to NATO was very delayed because he wanted to get something from the US. He has taken, over time, such steps that generally disturb the EU or NATO".

However, we note that Turkey expressed its intention this spring to join BRICS, after last year it participated as an observer at the summit held in South Africa on August 22-24, 2023, summit to which Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have applied for membership. With the exception of Argentina (which withdrew its application), the rest of the states became members of the organization from 1 January 2024.