turkey brics
1 Africa Business East Asia Pacific Europe Middle East Opinion South and Central Asia The Americas 

Can Turkey Join BRICS Despite India? – OpEd

Dr. Nejat Tamzok 0 Comments

By

Last week, at the BRICS Summit hosted by the Russian Federation, a bombshell report hit the media: Türkiye’s membership in the group was blocked by India due to Ankara’s close relations with Pakistan.

The claim was based on an interview with former Turkish diplomat Sinan Ülgen published in the German newspaper Bild. According to the article titled “Erdoğan’s BRICS dream shattered,” (1) India had voted against Türkiye, and since decisions in BRICS are taken unanimously, Türkiye’s membership bid had failed.

Later, the relevant individual stated that his comments had been misreported, clarifying that there had been no vote on Türkiye’s membership at the summit. (2)

India had not vetoed Türkiye’s BRICS membership. In fact, there was no vote; the decision was taken to wait as no consensus could be reached among BRICS members on expansion.

Nonetheless, it might be worth remembering the saying, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

True, there was no vote and therefore India did not vote against Türkiye, but the statements made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the summit were demoralizing enough for Türkiye and of course Pakistan as well.

Modi stated that they were ready to accept the new countries as “partner countries” rather than “member countries” in BRICS, and he particularly emphasized that decisions on this matter should be taken unanimously by the group members and with due respect to the views of the founding members. (3)

Considering that India, alongside Russia, China, and Brazil, is one of the four founding countries of BRICS, Modi was essentially reminding everyone that no new members could join the group without New Delhi’s approval. Thus, it is not difficult to predict that India will not easily allow Türkiye, with whom it has had serious issues in recent years, to join.

The primary reason for New Delhi’s objection to Türkiye lies in Ankara’s pro-Pakistan stance on the status of Kashmir, a longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan spanning 77 years. India perceives Türkiye’s position on this matter as direct interference in its internal affairs. Relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly, (4) (5) after India revoked Article 370 of its constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, in 2019. President Erdoğan’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly further strained relations, prompting Modi to cancel a planned visit to Türkiye, leading to the termination of defense cooperation agreements and significant cuts in trade relations. (6)

Subsequently, India continued to undertake initiatives that drew Ankara’s ire. It signed defense agreements with Armenia and Greece, with which Türkiye has had longstanding issues, and positioned itself as an ally of these countries in many regional disputes, much to Türkiye’s displeasure. In return, Türkiye solidified its military cooperation with Pakistan.

On the other hand, India’s position in the Middle East and especially its relationship with Israel constitutes a separate area of ​​concern between the two countries. While President Erdoğan describes Israel as a “murderer,” Modi’s tweet (7) following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, stating “We stand in solidarity with Israel,” clearly reveals the deep differences of opinion between the two capitals.

The rapprochement between India and Israel in recent years is not limited to cooperation in the fields of defense and technology.  The two countries are also aligned on projects like I2U2 and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, both parts of a regional architecture the United States is trying to establish in the Middle East. Although it is claimed that these initiatives, which do not include Türkiye, have economic and commercial purposes, it cannot be said that they may gradually form strong military-strategic foundations. Therefore, the closeness between the two countries, both of which have good relations with the United States and where religious-nationalist movements are gaining ground on the one hand and Islamic extremism is seen as an existential threat on the other, is making relations between India and Türkiye increasingly problematic.

Ultimately, one of the most challenging obstacles on the path to BRICS for Türkiye, as well as Pakistan, will undoubtedly be India – which is also a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. But going one step further, who can claim that the United States, with its close relationship with India, will have no influence on Türkiye’s BRICS membership process?

Endnotes:

  1.  Bild, 2024. Erdogans BRICS-Traum zerplatzt, https://www.bild.de/politik/ausland-und-internationales/erdogans-brics-traum-zerplatzt-keine-aufnahme-in-putin-allianz-6718b1b5defbfe64e2c3cdaa, 24 October 2024.
  2.  Türkiye Today, 2024. Turkish analyst refutes German Bild’s report of India rejecting Türkiye’s BRICS membership, https://www.turkiyetoday.com/turkiye/turkish-analyst-refutes-german-bilds-report-of-india-rejecting-turkiyes-brics-membership-70054/, 24 October 2024.
  3.  The Times of India, 2024. “We support talks, not war”: PM Modi at Brics meet in Russia, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/we-support-talks-not-war-modi-at-brics-meet-in-russia/articleshow/114519082.cms, 24 October 2024.
  4.  Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2024. No: 236, 5 August 2019, Press Release Regarding the Annulment of the Article of the Indian Constitution Which Accords Special Status to Jammu-Kashmir, https://www.mfa.gov.tr/no_236_-hindistan-anayasasi-nin-jammu-kesmir-maddesi-hk.en.mfa, Access date: 30 October 2024.
  5.  Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2024. QA-72, 5 August 2020, Statement of the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hami Aksoy, in Response to a Question Regarding the Anniversary of Annulment of the Article of the Indian Constitution Which Accords Special Status to Jammu-Kashmir, https://www.mfa.gov.tr/sc_-72_-hindistan-anayasasi-nin-kesmir-e-ozel-statu-taniyan-maddesinin-ilga-edilmesinin-birinci-yildonumu-hk-sc.en.mfa, Access date: 30 October 2024.
  6.  Firstpost, 2024. 5 reasons why Türkiye’s Erdogan may be changing his tone on India, https://www.firstpost.com/world/5-reasons-why-Türkiyes-erdogan-may-be-changing-his-tone-on-india-13819778.html, 27 September 2024.
  7.  https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1710614655620534296?lang=en, 7 October 2023, Access date: 30 October 2024.

Dr. Nejat Tamzok

Dr. Nejat Tamzok received his bachelor's and master's degrees in Mining Engineering from the Middle East Technical University, and his doctorate degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the Ankara University. He also graduated from the Anadolu University Department of History. He has worked at the Turkish Coal Enterprises since 1985, where he has held the positions of Planning Director and Strategic Planning Coordinator. He has participated in the construction of numerous engineering projects throughout his career. He also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Scientific Mining Journal, a peer-reviewed publication of the Chamber of Mining Engineers of Turkey, from 2016 to 2023. Dr. Tamzok is a member of the Chamber of Mining Engineers of Turkey, the Turkish National Committee of the World Mining Congress, the Turkish National Committee of the World Energy Council, and the Middle East Technical University Alumni Association.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *