Turkey appears to have formally applied to join the BRICS group of emerging market nations. Bloomberg on September 2 reported people familiar with the matter as saying the application went in months ago, while local media reports indicated that Ankara applied in coordination with close ally and neighbour Azerbaijan, which announced its bid to join two weeks ago. Critics may argue that Nato member Turkey should show more coherence in its choice of alliances, but, straddling Europe and Asia as it does, the country—for several years now angered by Europe’s blocking of the path that would allow it…