Turkey wants to become a member of the BRICS countries and also of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. There is a risk of a break with the West.
Ankara – In recent years, relations between Turkey and the West have steadily deteriorated. The country is far from the once desired accession to the EU. Now the Türkiye apparently found an alternative to the West and applied for membership in the BRICS states on Tuesday. Economic fluctuations, political tensions and trade disputes with the Western economies have made Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aware of the risks of being too dependent on their relations with Europe, writes the Turkish foundation SETA, which is close to the government, in a report.
Turkey joining BRICS for economic reasons alone?
By joining the BRICS, Turkey aims to expand its regional and global economic interactions, gain access to new markets and develop trade relations with key emerging economies. This strategy could boost economic growth and attract foreign investment, thereby reducing Turkey’s vulnerability to economic fluctuations due to Western influences, the report said.
Turkey has massive economic problems and urgently needs money. Western investors have so far held back from investing – and for good reason. The country is ruled in an authoritarian manner by President Erdogan and has increasingly distanced itself from the rule of law. In the rule of law index of the “World Justice Project”, Turkey is currently ranked 117th out of 142 countries. In the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the country is ranked 115th out of 180 countries. There are also other problems, such as the fact that Turkey has turned into a drug trafficking hub in recent years and has attracted international mafia bosses rather than international companies.
Türkiye declares its support for Hamas
Especially since the Hamas attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, relations between Turkey and the West have hardened. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had described Hamas as a liberation organisation and accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinians. The Turkish head of state had also always compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler.
Türkiye has distanced itself from the West since the coup attempt
Turkey’s rapprochement with Russia and China began after the attempted coup on July 15, 2016. At the same time, the economic and human rights situation in the country deteriorated dramatically. Above all, Erdogan and his AKP supporting ultranationalist Vatan Partisi under the leadership of Dogu Perincek repeatedly pushes for an alliance with Russia and China“Anyone who is for Turkey must Russia and China,” Perincek said in a TV show in May.
Ally Perincek calls for NATO withdrawal
During a visit to Iran, Perincek boasted that after the coup attempt, Turkey was breaking away from NATO and taking its place in “West Asia.” After the night of the coup, Erdogan had around 40,000 military personnel dismissed and many of them arrested. This also affected around half of all the country’s generals, who were pro-Western. Perincek repeatedly calls for withdrawal from NATO. “If we leave NATO, the prices of tomatoes, eggplants and peppers will fall,” he said in front of the cameras in July 2022 in view of the sharp rise in food prices.
Western states also dissatisfied with Türkiye
But even within NATO, people are not happy with Turkey. Despite warnings, the Erdogan government purchased the Russian S-400 air defense system and caused a lot of trouble. The US government suspended Turkey from the F-35 program. For years, Turkey had tried to at least get a commitment for F-16 fighter jets from the US and received one at the beginning of the year.
Is Türkiye turning away from the West?
Experts see a possible Ankara accession to the BRICS states as a problem for the West. Former Turkish diplomat and head of the Turkish think tank EDAM Sinan Ülgen told Newsweekthat the absence of other NATO members in the BRICS states means that Turkey’s accession will be interpreted as a move away from the West, “even if the Turkish authorities will explain that it is essentially a rebalancing.”
SOC accession a “no-go” for a NATO country
If Turkey were to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), it could lead to a final break with the West. Erdogan had expressed interest in joining last year and was a guest at the SOC summit in the Kazakh capital Astana. Joining the SCO “is for a NATOcountry is an absolute no-go,” Sinan Ciddi, Non-Resident Senior Fellow for Turkey at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a think tank in Washington, also told Newsweek. “They are opposing organizations.”
But Erdogan seems to be at least willing to accept the break with the West. After all, Erdogan blocked Sweden’s accession to NATO for a long time. “I don’t know how much further outside the value system one can be,” said Ciddi. (erpe/dpa)
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