Russia says expansion of BRICS one of the top agendas of the summit

With several new countries reportedly wanting to join BRICS – group of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa – the topic of the group’s expansion is “near the top of the agenda,” according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

“Indeed, the topic of BRICS’ expansion is near the top of the agenda, including the agenda of the upcoming summit,” Russian state news agency TASS cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.

There is a difference of opinion among BRICS member nations on how to approach the expansion, Peskov added, commenting on media reports citing resistance from India and Brazil towards China’s call to rapidly diversify the group.

“All these nuances certainly will be discussed during the upcoming summit … as the heads of state will talk about their position (on the issue),” the Kremlin spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday, according to TASS.

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The BRICS summit is set to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22-24. Member nations are expected to review official applications from a number of countries, such as Algeria and Belarus, to join the group.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the summit, the Kremlin announced in July. If Putin arrived in South Africa, he would be subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will represent Moscow at the summit instead. Putin, however, will be participate in the conference via video, according to Russian media reports.

Read more:

Algeria applies to join BRICS with a contribution of $1.5 bln

Belarus applied to join BRICS club, Russian agency reports

Putin will not attend BRICS summit in South Africa, to participate via video call