Russian Presidential Aide announces: Erdoğan will attend the BRICS Summit in Russia

While claims that Turkey has applied for BRICS membership remain on the agenda, it has been announced that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accepted an invitation to attend the BRICS Summit to be held in Kazan, Russia. Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov stated that President Erdoğan has accepted the Russian side's invitation to attend the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan.

According to Sputnik, Ushakov said, "The proposal was conveyed to the Turkish side, and Erdoğan accepted it."

The 16th BRICS Summit, hosted by Russia as the term president, will be held in Kazan from October 22-24. Erdoğan previously attended the 10th BRICS Summit held in South Africa in 2018 as an 'invited leader.' President Erdoğan took part in the family photo session with BRICS leaders and later participated in the BRICS Outreach Working Meeting within the scope of the summit.

Yesterday, reports appeared in the American press claiming that Turkey had applied for membership to join BRICS. It was noted that the claim surfaced during the BRICS term presidency of Russia, which has close relations with Turkey. Recently, Azerbaijan officially applied for BRICS membership following meetings between Russian leader Putin and Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Baku.

WHAT IS BRICS?

BRICS, formed by the initials of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is an organization that emerged as an alternative to the West's unilateral economic cooperation and aims for both economic and cultural cooperation among member countries. The term 'BRIC' was first used in 2001 in the report titled 'Building Better Global Economic BRICS' prepared by Jim O’Neill, the chairman of the board of the US investment bank Goldman Sachs.

News Source: 12punto