Russia holds back on discussing BRICS new admissions, expansion decisions

Russia said it will not “get ahead” of itself and announce its position on the admission of certain new countries to the BRICS group when asked about the possibility of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Argentina joining the economic bloc, Moscow’s state news agency TASS reported Thursday.

“We don’t think it’s necessary to get ahead of ourselves and announce our position before they (discussions) take place among BRICS member states,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying. “In any case, we are talking about countries with which we have quite constructive cooperation in various areas.”

Peskov, however, emphasized Russia’s stance on the expansion of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), according to TASS, who cited him as saying, “In one form or another, the BRICS expansion will contribute to the further development and strengthening of this organization.”

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The BRICS summit in August will look into admitting new members and what criteria they would have to meet, with Iran and Saudi Arabia among those who have reportedly formally asked to join, according to multiple media reports earlier this year.

Around 30 new countries have shown interest in joining the bloc, with some nations, such as Algeria and Belarus, having submitted formal applications.

Five new countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Argentina, Egypt, and Indonesia, could be admitted to BRICS at the Johannesburg summit in August, an Indian newspaper, Business Standard, cited its sources as saying.

Read more:

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

BRICS discusses expansion as Iran, Saudi Arabia formally ask to join

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