Earlier, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov confirmed that Turkiye had applied for full-fledged participation in BRICS, and it is now under consideration.
"As for NATO membership and EU candidate status, which Turkiye has had for almost 70 years, as a Turkish official recently said, BRICS has no rules that would say members of certain organizations cannot have relations with this association," the minister said in an interview with RBC on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.
BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.