Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. BRICS summit 2018. FWM
Will it be BRICS or BRICTS?
This year’s BRICS Summit created a stir when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear that he wants to add a "T" to the acronym, making them the BRICTS.
Published: August 1, 2018, 9:05 am
Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, suggesting that Turkey’s shift away from the West may proceed faster than expected.
On the second day of the summit, world leaders signed the Johannesburg Declaration which among others supports an inclusive multilateral trading system. Two more agreements were signed, one on environmental cooperation and a memorandum of understanding on a regional aviation partnership.
South African host, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the group had “felt the need to do everything to protect the multilateral system which is now under attack”.
The three-day summit brought together leaders who represent almost half of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s GDP.
The BRICS -Plus session was held on Friday in which chair of the G20 and influential Common Market of the South (Mercosur) Mauricio Marci, Chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and President of Turkey Recep Erdogan and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took part.
Presidents of China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Russia meet in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2018. BRICS
Erdogan’s wish to become part of BRICS will means access to much-needed development capital outside of the institutions controlled by the US — The IMF, The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Ex-Im banks, etc.
Relations between the US and Turkey have deteriorated amid deep divisions over the American backing of the Syrian Kurdish force YPG. The rift is growing with questions being raised about Turkey buying US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets as well as Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.
A State Department official told Congress last month that plans by the Turkish government to acquire the Russian missile defense system would end United States-Turkish relations. The US Senate has temporarily blocked the sale of American arms to Turkey, including F-35 fighter jets.
It would be an extraordinary step to impose sanctions on a NATO ally, and the Turkish government responded defiantly with Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, tweeting: “Noone dictates Turkey. We will never tolerate threats from anybody. Rule of law is for everyone; no exception.”
Turkey is currently struggling with a crashing currency, the Lira, and sovereign bond market that some suggest are the signs on an unfolding sovereign debt crisis. It does beg the question of why certain countries’ currencies get trashed when others with worse balance sheets or balance of trade somehow survive.
Turkey’s response to the US-imposed Lira crisis has been to move away from the US dollar.
Membership of BRICS will give the Muslim country access to more sources of Chinese capital and at the same time resolving it’s large dollar-based corporate liabilities. If the Trump administration escalates the financial and diplomatic war against Turkey, such liabilities could increase drastically.
Chinese President Xi and his wife arrive at Waterkloof Airport, Pretoria, 2018. BRICS
Notably Chinese President Xi Jinping’s entourage at the meeting included top members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and several directors of the CPC Central Committee.
The Erdogan administration has also been supporting Iran by laundering sanctioned Iranian oil sales in return for physical gold through Turkish banks against the wishes of Washington. Turkey is highly dependent on foreign energy imports and is one of Iran’s largest customers. It has been ignoring American threats to withdraw from Iran since November.
Russia has meanwhile been helping Turkey to become more energy-independent by building nuclear power plants as well as the Turkish Stream pipeline, thus providing Russian Gas from Gazprom at an effective discount while receiving transit fees from gas destined for Europe.
Since Turkey has currency swap agreements in place with China any excess buildup of local currency can be mitigated. The next step for Erdogan would be for Turkey to sign one with Russia as well as India to loosen the grip of the dollar.
While the Trump administration has been seeking pressure on Erdogan through currency wars, the Pentagon entertains a close alliance with a Kurdish militia in northern Syria, designated in Turkey as “terrorists”.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
Middle East
Israeli company suspected of manipulating votes in 33 countries
Tel AvivAn Israeli company is said to have hacked into the accounts of campaign workers and operate fake user accounts. The Tel Aviv company run by secret agents claims to have manipulated elections worldwide. The traces also lead to Europe.
The UAE receives Syria’s Assad: Give peace a chance!
When John Lennon sang “Give peace a chance” in 1975, Syria was expecting a military rebellion by the extremist Muslim Brotherhood organization – listed as a terrorist group in many countries – whose goal was to overthrow the secular government in Damascus and establish a regressive state based on Sharia laws.
Badri 313: Who trained the Taliban’s special ops unit?
KabulThere have been numerous reports of Taliban Special Forces Units patrolling in Kabul. These units are very different from the traditional set-up of militant groups. And it is evident that the Taliban got the equipment for the battalion – state-of-the-art US military hardware and weapons and the same military equipment used by Afghan forces – from the departing US Army. But who trained them?
Not only Biden, but Britain hands over names of their Afghan partners to Taliban
WashingtonWhen the US armed forces left the Taliban with US military goods worth almost 85 billion dollars, pundits blamed President Joe Biden's ineptitude. Great Britain curiously now also falls into this category.
Taliban now control one of the world’s largest lithium deposits
Taliban fighters not only took control of Kabul and the Afghan government on August 15. They also gained access to a gigantic deposit of minerals essential for renewable energies, possibly giving China an indisputable edge.
Israelis who got third jab infected with Covid
Tel AvivDespite a third vaccine "booster shot" at least 14 Israelis have been diagnosed with Covid-19, according to Health Ministry data. And two of those infected after receiving the third vaccine injection, have been hospitalized.
Israel: Early jab recipients twice as likely to catch Covid
Israelis who were vaccinated before late February are twice as likely to catch the Coronavirus than those who received the shot later, according to new research. The data suggests that the vaccinated have now involuntarily signed up for a lifetime of "booster" shots if they survive the vaccine.
Syrian first lady supports the fight against Al Qaeda and ISIS
The Syrian first lady has been accused by a London based law firm of terrorism and war crimes, which stem from her support of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), through her speeches, meeting with and comforting the mothers of slain soldiers, and meeting with the women’s branch of the SAR.
Breaking: Russian sociologists released from captivity in Libya
TripoliAccording to President of the Russian Foundation for Protecting National Values Alexander Malkevich, Russian sociologists Maxim Shugaley and Samer Sueifan have finally been released after a long captivity in Libya. This information is confirmed by Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian president's special representative for the Middle East and Africa and deputy foreign minister.
