Politics
Türkiye to highlight cooperation in BRICS summit
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is representing Türkiye at the two-day 17th BRICS Leaders summit, which began in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
The summit comes amid rising geopolitical tensions, including the recent Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, which has been a BRICS member since 2024, along with the genocide in the Gaza Strip and the war in Ukraine.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House and his renewed tariff threats have also raised concerns for the group.
The two-day talks will be hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with trade and investment, financial cooperation, AI and technology, global health, and climate action on the agenda.
Türkiye’s top diplomat, who attended the BRICS session on the sidelines of a BRICS foreign ministers meeting in Russia last month, will attend two sessions in Brazil, on multilateralism, artificial intelligence, economy, environment and global health.
BRICS was originally formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining the following year.
It has grown to 11 members, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia – the latest member to join the bloc.
An additional 10 countries, among them Vietnam, Nigeria and Malaysia, have joined as official “partner countries,” a new category introduced at the 16th BRICS summit in Russia.
The bloc, which sees itself as a voice for the Global South, accounts for around 44% of global GDP and more than 56% of the world’s population. It advocates for a multipolar global order and expansionism and seeks to counter Western influence on the global front.
Notably absent from the summit will be two founding leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Putin, who faces an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, will participate virtually, according to media reports. Meanwhile, the Russian delegation in Brazil will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Xi will skip the summit, his first time missing the meeting as Chinese president in 12 years. According to media reports, Beijing had reportedly informed the Brazilian government that Xi would be absent from the event due to a scheduling conflict. Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang is expected to attend in his place. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also reportedly going to miss the summit.
Those attending include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The group seeks better cooperation among Global South countries by creating alternative financial systems, reducing dollar dependency and greater representation in global institutions.
With the theme for this year’s summit, “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance,” the BRICS nations are set to discuss a wide range of topics
Brazil is said to focus on six key topics, including global health cooperation, trade, investment and finance, and climate change. It is also emphasizing artificial intelligence, governance, multilateral peace and security architecture and institutional development.
At the summit, Fidan is expected to underscore the importance of preserving and enhancing the effectiveness of multilateralism in addressing global challenges.
Fidan is also anticipated to emphasize the role of the BRICS platform in this context and present Türkiye’s principled, constructive and humanitarian approach to crises in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza. He is likely to draw attention to the threats posed by Israel’s aggression to regional peace, security, and development.
The minister is expected to reaffirm Türkiye’s stance that global prosperity can only be achieved through cooperation, dialogue and stability, rather than through military conflicts or trade wars. He will likely stress the importance of a fair and predictable international trade system.
Fidan is also expected to highlight the need for shared responsibility in tackling issues such as climate change, environmental protection, sustainable development and global health. He will present Türkiye’s concrete contributions in these areas, including its legislative efforts and ongoing projects such as the zero waste initiative aimed at combating climate change.
Additionally, Fidan is set to outline Türkiye’s vision for building a sustainable artificial intelligence and advanced technology ecosystem. He is expected to call for a more inclusive and responsive multilateral system to reduce global poverty, address inequality and bridge development gaps among countries.
On the sidelines of the summit, Fidan is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings.
Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu voiced concern over Israel’s growing presence in the Greek Cypriot-administered south, saying expanding military ties could undermine security on the divided island.
Ertuğruloğlu made the remarks during a meeting with Turkish journalists in Washington, D.C., as part of his U.S. visit following the U.N. General Assembly meetings.
Responding to a question about the impact of the Greek Cypriot administration’s growing military ties with Israel and other countries on security on the island, Ertuğruloğlu said Turkish Cypriot authorities were concerned about Israel’s increasing involvement.
“We are, of course, not pleased with Israel becoming so influential in southern Cyprus,” he stated, “This is a relationship that puts the island’s security at risk.”
He also criticized the Greek Cypriot administration’s military cooperation with France, U.S. arms sales and military training, as well as British policies involving its bases on the island.
Ertuğruloğlu said such developments risked disrupting stability but argued that Türkiye had taken necessary measures to preserve the military balance.
He emphasized that Turkish Cypriots remained confident about their security despite regional tensions, citing the presence of Turkish forces on the island and Türkiye’s role as a guarantor.
Two-state position unchanged
Ertuğruloğlu further noted the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would maintain its current foreign policy position on the future of the Cyprus issue, reiterating its call for two sovereign, equal states with equal international status.
“The point we have reached in foreign policy is final: two sovereign, equal states with equal international status,” he said. “There is no option of establishing a new partnership with the Greek Cypriots. That is over.”
He underlined that Turkish Cypriots had previously attempted to establish a partnership with Greek Cypriots, referring to the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960 and the intercommunal violence that began in 1963.
Ertuğruloğlu argued that the Greek Cypriot side’s approach to the Cyprus dispute had not changed and said the international community’s policies encouraged it.
He also pointed to military cooperation between the Greek Cypriot administration and Israel, as well as the expected participation of U.S., British and French military personnel in anniversary ceremonies in southern Cyprus.
Ertuğruloğlu said future relations on the island could instead be based on good, neighborly ties between the two states.
“There can now be neighborly relations on the island,” he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay, who resigned from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in June, at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Wednesday.
“We informed the president about important issues on Izmir’s agenda and our projects for the city’s future,” Tugay noted in a written statement, thanking Erdoğan for the meeting and his interest in Izmir.
The meeting comes amid speculation over Tugay’s political future following his departure from the CHP.
Tugay resigned from the party on June 18 amid turmoil following a court ruling concerning the CHP leadership and said he would continue serving as Izmir mayor as an independent.
His departure left Türkiye’s third-largest city with a mayor who was not a CHP member for the first time in more than two decades.
Since his resignation, Turkish media reports have speculated that Tugay could join the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
AK Party Izmir lawmaker Mehmet Kasapoğlu, responding to the speculation, said the party would neither attempt to force political developments nor “close the door” on trends emerging naturally in politics.
Erdoğan’s meeting with Tugay follows a Sept. 9 meeting with Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, who later announced his resignation from the CHP and said he would continue his political career as an independent.
Morning raids on Thursday netted Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer, along with the mayors of the Yenişehir and Mezitli districts in the province.
Authorities announced that a total of 59 suspects were detained in an investigation into corruption in the municipalities.
Seçer, Yenişehir Mayor Abdullah Özyiğit and Mezitli Mayor Ahmet Serkan Tuncer are all members of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), whose new chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has pledged to cleanse the party of corruption after taking office last May.
The investigation into Mersin municipality, a city of about 2 million people, found that violations of regulations in 13 public tenders and 63 acquisitions organized by the municipality resulted in a public loss of more than TL 330 million ($6.73 million). Suspects linked to Mezitli Municipality caused a public loss of more than TL 1.1 billion, investigators discovered, again through rigged public tenders and acquisitions, while the figure was TL 105 million at Yenişehir Municipality.
A similar scheme was discovered in most municipalities that faced investigations in the past two years, and almost all of them were run by CHP mayors. In other investigations, prosecutors have accused defendants, including mayors and senior municipal bureaucrats, of running criminal organizations that thrived on bribes in exchange for zoning and building permits, awarding lucrative tenders to businesspeople in exchange for advance payments in violation of tender laws and holding companies hostage over payments for their services, releasing the payments only after the companies paid additional money to the municipalities.
Authorities said Tuncer also faced a separate investigation over allegations that he ordered armed attacks on people with whom he was involved in a feud, as well as on a local office of the New Party (YP), which was founded last July by former CHP chair Özgür Özel, and the offices of a media company.
The CHP seeks to restore its image, tarnished by the arrest of mayors on corruption charges. As promised by Kılıçdaroğlu, the “cleansing process” will now involve preemptive steps to prevent future cases, according to a recent report by Sabah newspaper. Starting next year, the party will introduce a “performance monitoring system” for its mayors, which will serve as a benchmark to assess whether they comply with the CHP’s predetermined criteria.
With this move, the mayors’ past and future performance will come under scrutiny. They will be assessed based on how many criteria they have met, and at the end of the process, they will be given a “report card.”
The mayors will undergo reviews in a number of areas, including project management, financial management, human resources management and public relations. The flow of funds in municipalities, investments and the allocation of tenders are also expected to be examined comprehensively.
Mayors whose activities are deemed suspicious, who fail to meet the established criteria or are found to have performed poorly will not be nominated in the next election. Throughout the process, the main focus will be on clean politics and financial transparency.
All of the mayors who remain under the CHP umbrella are individuals who were nominated in the last local elections during Özgür Özel’s tenure as party chairperson. The party leadership also plans to hold a meeting of mayors shortly to strengthen central authority and discuss steps to be taken for the coming year.
Defense Minister Yaşar Güler attended the Distinguished Observer Day of the Unity of Strength-2026 military exercise in Azerbaijan on Thursday, alongside senior commanders from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
The exercise, hosted by Azerbaijan with the participation of Türkiye and Uzbekistan, is aimed at improving coordination and joint operational capabilities among the three countries’ armed forces.
Güler visited the exercise area in Shusha with Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Navy Commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Land Forces Commander Gen. Metin Tokel and Air Force Commander Gen. Rafet Dalkıran.
Güler and Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov also inspected weapons, ammunition and military technologies displayed and used during the exercise.
Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said Turkish and Azerbaijani air forces struck simulated ground targets on their first attempts during the drills. The ministry also said troops conducted urban warfare training as part of the exercise.
According to the ministry, participating units trained under challenging scenarios designed to improve coordination, speed and their ability to conduct joint operations.
More than 3,500 military personnel from Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have taken part in the joint exercises, which began Sept. 21, according to Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, noting the drills marked the first military exercise of this scale to include territories retaken by Azerbaijan.
More than 130 unmanned aerial vehicles, 70 armored vehicles, 90 artillery systems and 20 aircraft are participating in the exercise, along with more than 30 electronic warfare, reconnaissance and surveillance systems. The drills also involve more than 15 air defense systems, eight sets of engineering equipment and more than 20 naval vessels, the ministry said.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that work was underway on the possible transfer of Türkiye’s Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to a third country, a move that could help address a longstanding dispute between Ankara and Washington over Türkiye’s participation in the F-35 fighter jet program.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the issue was “on the agenda” and that discussions were taking place.
“Relevant work is being done, and appropriate contacts are taking place,” Peskov noted when asked about the possibility of transferring the systems.
His comments came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow could consider allowing the S-400 systems to be transferred to another country.
Lavrov said any recipient would need to act responsibly and maintain friendly relations with Russia, adding that Moscow would consider such a transfer if a request were made.
Türkiye agreed to purchase the S-400 air defense system from Russia in 2017 and acquired the system in 2019.
The acquisition drew criticism from the United States and other NATO allies, which argued that operating the Russian system posed risks to NATO defense systems and the F-35 program.
Washington subsequently removed Türkiye from the F-35 program and imposed sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Ankara has long sought to resolve the dispute and return to the F-35 program. Yet, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering allowing Türkiye to rejoin the F-35 program at the NATO summit in Ankara in July.
Speaking alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex after arriving in Ankara for the summit, Trump said the time had come to remove sanctions that have strained relations between the two NATO allies.
“We’re going to lift the sanctions,” Trump said. “We don’t want to sanction our friends. I don’t want to choke my friend with sanctions.”
Calling Türkiye a militarily powerful country under Erdoğan’s leadership, Trump remarked that relations between Washington and Ankara were at their strongest point in years.
Yemen is seeking to expand cooperation with Türkiye to rebuild state institutions and improve essential public services as the war-torn country grapples with persistent security and humanitarian challenges, Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba said.
Al-Zouba made the remarks during a meeting with Türkiye’s Ambassador to Riyadh, Emrullah Işler, Yemen’s official SABA news agency reported.
The two officials discussed recent developments in Yemen and the wider region, as well as ways to strengthen bilateral relations and broaden cooperation.
Al-Zouba praised Türkiye’s support for Yemen and its internationally recognized government, including Ankara’s backing for the Presidential Leadership Council.
She stressed the importance of strengthening political and diplomatic coordination between Türkiye and Yemen amid regional and international developments, saying closer ties could support efforts to rebuild state institutions and bolster regional security and stability.
The Yemeni government is particularly interested in expanding cooperation with Türkiye in strengthening state institutions and improving basic services to help ease hardships facing the population, al-Zouba said.
The foreign minister also raised the impact of Houthi attacks on security in Yemen and the wider region, including threats to international trade and maritime traffic in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
She warned that indiscriminate missile launches by the Houthis posed growing risks to civil aviation and international air travel, saying weapons that fail to distinguish between civilian and military targets endanger passenger aircraft and civilian lives.
Işler, for his part, reiterated Türkiye’s support for the Yemeni government and for Yemen’s security, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also reaffirmed Ankara’s commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation and supporting the Yemeni government’s efforts to rebuild state institutions and restore security and stability.
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