Turkish President Erdogan to attend BRICS summit in Russia

Istanbul, Sep 5 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the BRICS summit scheduled to be held in the Russian city of Kazan in October, local media reported citing presidential sources.The Haberturk daily report followed a statement by Russian presidential aide on foreign policy Yury Ushakov, who said, Turkey has applied for full membership and “we will review the application”, Xinhua news agency reported.On Tuesday, Omer Celik, the spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, said that the country’s request to join BRICS is clear, and the process is ongoing. “If there are any concrete developments, they will be shared,” Celik added.BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In January, the mechanism expanded its membership to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Ethiopia.–IANSint/rs/svn