Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated in an interview that had Türkiye has been a full member of the European Union, it would not need to search for alternatives like BRICS - a group of emerging economies. Fidan also noted that had Türkiye been part of the EU, the bloc may have avoided the fragmentation it saw with Brexit. Fidan has been stepping up his engagement with the EU in recent weeks. He attended an informal EU ministers meeting in Brussels, the first participation by Türkiye after a 5-year absence. Despite stalled progress on Türkiye’s EU membership, Fidan said Ankara was still committed to joining the bloc. Accession negotiations began in 2005, but stalled in 2018 over a series of political differences and the lingering issue over the island of Cyprus.