Turkey has expressed its desire to join the BRICS organization instead of the EU, where it gained candidate state status in 1999.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan believes it could be a "good alternative to the EU."
"Of course we would like to become a member of BRICS. Let's see how things go this year," he said during a visit to China, reports aa.
Ankara first intends to attend the organization's ministerial meeting next week in Russia.
The Kremlin has welcomed the Turkish state's interest in becoming part of BRICS, where Russia is the main leader.
BRICS is a bloc of emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has recently admitted Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates as full members. /Telegraph/
