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NATO membership no obstacle to joining BRICS — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov pointed out that BRICS basically does not set conditions for its participants and partners

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Alexander Kazakov/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov

© Alexander Kazakov/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

KAZAN, October 23. /TASS/. NATO membership is not an obstacle to joining BRICS, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"From the point of view of BRICS and the main approaches of BRICS, there are no objections here," the spokesman told the NTV channel, answering a question about Turkey's chances of becoming a member of the association.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he "sincerely wants to develop cooperation with the association." Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also confirmed Ankara's interest in joining BRICS.

Being an EU member state will not be an obstacle to joining BRICS either. Peskov pointed out that BRICS in principle does not set conditions for its participants and partners. "These are the conditions that they like setting in NATO, in the EU: "either you’re with the EU or with Russia," "either you’re in BRICS or in NATO." But in BRICS no one says such things, and this makes the organization even more attractive," he said.

The Kremlin spokesman recalled that BRICS has no statutes or binding treaties. "But what is the most important thing? There is a political will that unites countries that share the same vision of development prospects. Be it political development, economic development, cultural development and so on. It is an atmosphere in which each other's interests are taken into account. It is an atmosphere where there are no hegemonic aspirations. There is no country that claims to be the backbone of the organization," Peskov added.

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Foreign policy Dmitry Peskov BRICS

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