Turkish top diplomat to attend BRICS meeting in Russia

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will travel to Russia for a two-day visit to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the BRICS bloc and several other countries, according to diplomatic sources.

The sources said Fidan will attend the meeting in the city of Nizhny Novgorod on Tuesday and hold talks with Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Discussions at the meetings will focus on regional and international issues, including recent developments in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Libya, and the South Caucasus.

Fidan will reiterate Türkiye's expectation for a peaceful end to the ongoing wars in its region as soon as possible, as well as its willingness to provide support in this direction, the sources said.

Economic and trade cooperation is also on the agenda, including efforts to increase mutual investments and reach a $100-billion trade volume target, set by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

During the visit, Fidan is also expected to meet with Turkish business representatives operating in Russia.

BRICS session

Tuesday's meeting will be addressing issues of international security, sustainable development, and global governance, with BRICS inviting 15 non-member countries to attend, Türkiye, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Algeria, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Laos, Mauritania, Nigeria, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Fidan is also expected hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from other countries on the sidelines of the meeting.

President Erdogan had also participated in the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in 2018.

Russia assumed the chairmanship of BRICS from South Africa as of January 1, adopting the theme, "Strengthening multilateralism for fair global development and security."

The 16th BRICS summit is planned to be held in Kazan on October 22-24.

Fidan ramps up diplomatic contacts

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has recently overseen some intensive diplomatic traffic for Türkiye, hosting dignitaries and attending various events.

He received EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi in Ankara on May 23, before attending a NATO foreign ministers meeting on Ukraine in the Czech capital Prague on May 31.

Fidan then visited China on June 3-5, meeting Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

He discussed bilateral relations and international issues during his meetings in Beijing.

He also visited the capital of China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, and Kashgar, where he conveyed Türkiye's sincere views on Uyghur Turks to Chinese authorities in Beijing and Xinjiang.

On Saturday, he attended an Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul. The meeting, hosted by Türkiye at Istanbul’s iconic Dolmabahce Palace, discussed the ongoing situation in Gaza.

Fidan then flew to the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday to attend the 6th Türkiye-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) High-Level Strategic Dialogue meeting of foreign ministers.