Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
India rejected Turkey’s bid to gain membership into BRICS.
Fact
The claims were based on a Turkish analyst’s interview with a German newspaper, who later clarified that the report misrepresented his statements. Although India is distancing itself from Türkiye, the issue of Türkiye’s membership was not voted on in the summit, said the analyst.
Several social media users, including widely followed news accounts, are claiming that India rejected Turkey’s bid to gain membership into BRICS, owing to the latter’s close ties with Pakistan. The claim went viral following the recently concluded 2024 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Kazan, Russia, where Indian PM Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with host President Putin (second in three months), China’s Xi Jinping (first formal bilateral talks in five years) and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, among others.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “India rejects Turkey bid BRICS”, which did not throw up any such report by major media outlets, both India and globally. However, we came across this report, dated October 24, 2024, stating that India blocked Turkey’s entry into BRICS as per German newspaper Bild. Similar reports can be seen here and here.
Sinan Ulgen, a former diplomat and foreign policy expert at the Carnegie Foundation of Turkey, reportedly told Bild that India is preventing Turkey from joining the BRICS, citing Ankara’s close relations with Pakistan.
We then found the Bild article, dated October 24, 2024, headlined, “Erdogan’s Dream Shattered”, with the strapline reading, “Insider: Failed because of India”.
“The Erdogan government had submitted an application to the association of states in the run-up to the 16th BRICS summit (which stands for the founding states of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)… The Turkish application angered the Western partners – after all, Turkey is a NATO member and the transatlantic alliance is at odds with Putin. There was not even a vote, says insider Sinan Ülgen, an expert on Turkish foreign policy at the US think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Turkish ex-diplomat explains to Bild that India prevented the BRICS from joining. The reason: Ankara’s good relations with enemy Pakistan! But because BRICS membership requires unanimity, Turkey’s accession would have had no chance,” read the report, which presented contrasting statements that there was no voting on Turkey’s membership bid yet, while also saying that India rejected Turkey’s attempt, thus raising our doubts.
Interestingly, the report goes on to state that Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia joined the BRICS bloc most recently, while Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied for membership.
Newschecker then ran a keyword search for “Sinan Ulgen Turkey India BRICS”, which led us to this Turkiye Today report, dated October 24, 2024, headlined, “Turkish analyst refutes German Bild’s report of India rejecting Türkiye’s BRICS membership.”
“Turkish foreign policy expert Sinan Ulgen refuted claims made by the German news outlet Bild on Wednesday, which quoted him as saying that India had rejected Türkiye’s BRICS membership bid. Ulgen clarified that the report misrepresented his statements regarding Türkiye’s diplomatic standing,” read the report, sharing an X post made by Ulgen on October 24, 2024.
“I gave an interview to Bild about BRICS but the news did not include the nuances. India is indeed distant from Turkey but there was no need to veto it. The issue was not voted on. Many other countries besides India are against rapid expansion. There is no consensus on that issue yet,” read the X post, translated from Turkish.
According to the report, the Turkish presidency announced that BRICS did not have any expansion talks on its agenda during the Kazan summit, with the presidency noting that any report alleging that India blocked Türkiye’s membership is totally baseless.
“Ahead of the 16th BRICS Summit, Türkiye reportedly submitted a formal application to join the bloc, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. While nations such as Iran, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have recently been accepted into the alliance, Türkiye’s bid did not move forward. The bid, according to Ulgen, was not voted on, though there are reports of opposition from several member states,” further read the report. A tweet by Middle East Eye’s Turkey bureau chief, Ragip Soylu, on the matter can be seen here, reiterating that reports suggesting India had blocked Turkey’s membership during the summit are completely false.
We also came across this BRICS News post on X, dated October 24, 2024, stating that BRICS officially added 13 new nations to the alliance as partner countries (not full members), which included Turkey. A report can be seen here, clarifying that BRICS partners are only allowed selective engagement and participation in BRICS affairs; as well as remaining participants in other international initiatives without full commitment to BRICS. However, all of the new BRICS partners do have potential to become full members in the future and they are just not being inducted right away for certain reasons only known to the bloc.
Meanwhile, we also came across this Print report, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was ready to welcome more “partner countries” to BRICS as long as all decisions in this regard were taken “unanimously”. “Making a veiled reference to Russia and China’s tacit support of Pakistan’s entry into the nine-member grouping, Modi remarked at the closed plenary session of the 16th BRICS summit that the views of the founding members of BRICS should be respected,” read the report, dated October 23, 2024.
“…Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) confirmed that Turkey had formally applied to join the BRICS bloc of emerging economies…Turkey’s BRICS candidacy marks the first time a NATO member and candidate for EU membership has applied to join a group dominated by Russia and China that views itself as a counterweight to the Western-led global order…In addition to Turkey, nearly 20 other countries have applied for membership, forcing the bloc to institute expansion procedures. The line of aspirants has also sparked divisions within the original BRIC members, with Russia and China pushing for expansion while Brazil and India are more wary of adding members, read a Wire report, dated October 22, 2024. None of these two reports stated whether Turkey’s bid was tabled in the summit, further contradicting the viral claim.
Also Read: New BRICS Currency To Replace US Dollar? No, Here’s The Truth Behind Viral Claim
Conclusion
Viral claim that India rejected Turkey’s membership bid for BRICS is misleading.
Result: Missing Context
Sources
Turkiye Today report, October 24, 2024
X post, October 24, 2024
X post, Ragip Soylu, October 24, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
