Has Turkey finally made a decision?

No, not that turkey! This turkey — the one from Turkiye:

A full-fledged, card-carrying, dues-paying member of NATO since 1952, Turkiye (or Turkey, as it is more commonly spelled) has recently appeared to be having a difficult time deciding which side of the political fence it prefers: NATO’s democratic side, or Russia’s . . . well, you know.

In complete opposition to everything NATO stands for, Turkiye’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has staunchly refused to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine, and continues to mollify Vladimir Putin at every turn. His justification is his claim to be able to negotiate between Putin and the Western powers in an attempt to end the war — though so far without success.

And now word has come from Yuri Ushakov, foreign affairs aide to Putin, that Turkiye has applied for membership in BRICS — the bloc of developing economies that seeks to counter the West’s global influence. [Associated Press, September 4, 2024.]

While President Erdogan has stated in the past that his country desires to join the BRICS alliance, this has not yet been confirmed, according to Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling party. But membership in BRICS would fit well with Erdogan’s long-time efforts to enhance his country’s global influence, if the alliance continues to expand.

BRICS aims to establish “a fairer world order and the reform of international institutions like the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.” [Id.] Its founding members (in 2006) were Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. Newer members include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates; Saudi Arabia has said it is considering joining; and Azerbaijan and Malaysia have already applied.

And there is that phrase again — the one that keeps haunting me: a “new world order,” which keeps cropping up in proclamations from both Russia and China. That cannot be a coincidence.

This is the alliance that Erdogan has expressed a strong interest in joining, while somehow maintaining his country’s conflicting membership in NATO.

I wonder what his justification will be this time.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/7/24