GENEVA, September 6. /TASS/. Turkey intends to strengthen its influence and play an important role not only in its region, but also in global politics by joining BRICS, Guenther Maihold, a German political scientist, senior researcher at the Foundation for Science and Politics at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
"Turkey seeks a global political role," he told the Blick newspaper, while commenting on recent reports to the effect that Ankara had applied for joining BRICS. The way he sees it Turkey hopes its BRICS membership will let it not only earn recognition as an influential regional power, but also gain a firmer foothold on the global scene. BRICS is of interest to the Turkish leadership in the context of the ongoing expansion of the bloc, as well as a platform that unites key rapidly developing countries.
On September 2, Bloomberg quoted sources as saying that the Turkish authorities had applied for joining BRICS several months ago. According to the agency, the association’s expansion may be considered at the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24, where Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has been invited. Later, the spokesman for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, Omer Celik, said that Erdogan has repeatedly spoken about the wish to join BRICS, but there are no concrete decisions regarding Turkey's membership of the organization. Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said on September 4 that BRICS would consider Turkey's application for full membership of the alliance.