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BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Azerbaijan formally applied Tuesday to join the BRICS group of developing economies, a day after Russian leader Vladimir Putin visits oil-rich South Caucasus nation To strengthen regional relations and secure trade routes that are under pressure in Moscow.
The announcement by the foreign ministry in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, comes as the BRICS alliance has seen significant expansion. For more than a decade, the bloc comprised just five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
In January, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates joined the organization, and Saudi Arabia said it was considering doing so as well.
The club already includes some of the world’s largest oil producers, accounting for more than a quarter of global GDP. Relations between club members Russia and Iran with the West have reached breaking point over the past few years. Moscow's war on Ukraine And Iranian regional policies.
Trade relations were high on the agenda during Meeting between Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on MondayAliyev announced that $120 million has been allocated to enhance the transportation of goods between the two countries.
Putin is increasingly relying on countries like Azerbaijan for access to global markets because of sanctions imposed on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine, according to political scientist Zardosht Alizadeh.
Maintaining Moscow's goodwill is important for Azerbaijan for national security in the face of tensions with neighboring Armenia, Alizadeh added.
Russia has been Armenia’s longtime patron and ally since the fall of the Soviet Union. But relations between the two have become increasingly tense since September 2023, when the Azerbaijani military seized control of the Karabakh region, ending three decades of ethnic Armenian separatist rule.
Armenia has accused Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan's offensive. Moscow, which has a military base in Armenia, has claimed its forces have no mandate to intervene.
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