Turkey wants to join BRICS because it is disillusioned with NATO and EU

The Turkish President has suggested that the leaders of the five-member BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) should add “T” to the acronym. Erdogan was invited to the group’s latest forum and told Hurriyet Daily News on its sidelines that current members welcomed the idea of Turkey’s accession.

By refusing to cut its support for the Kurdish-led forces, the US is seen by many in Turkey as “directly threatening” their country, Bakhrevskiy said. Erdogan doesn’t hesitate to capitalize on the sentiment.

“Anti-Americanism is popular, he is a politician, he will do what people like.”

At the same time, Turkey’s relations with Russia, having hit their lowest point when Turkey downed a Russian attack jet above Syria in November 2015, have recovered swiftly and are gaining momentum. The speed of this rapprochement is evidence that “two parties really need each other,” according to Bakhrevskiy.