President Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye's potential involvement in the BRICS and ASEAN groups of nations was not an alternative to its NATO membership, and instead provided economic cooperation opportunities, Paralel.Az reports citing broadcaster NTV.

Speaking to Turkish journalists in New York before leaving the UN General Assembly, Erdogan said Turkey, which is also a European Union candidate, could not determine its future based on its stalled EU membership bid and had to deepen its relations with all actors and regions.

"BRICS and ASEAN are structures that, for us, particularly boast opportunities to improve our economic cooperation," he was cited as saying.

"Being involved in these structures does not mean abandoning NATO. We do not think that this alliance and cooperation are an alternative to one another."