The bloc has voted to temporarily suspend accepting new members, according to the Russian Foreign Minister
The BRICS group of nations has voted to temporarily stop accepting new members and focus on integrating the most recent countries to join, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Wednesday.
In a statement published on the ministry’s website, Lavrov stated that the Group of Ten had decided to “take a break with the accession of new members in order to process the new arrivals, who have doubled the composition of the group.”
BRICS was initially founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining the group in 2010. This year, five more countries officially joined the organization, including Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In his statement, Lavrov said that while the new arrivals are being integrated into the group, a new category of “partner countries” would be formed as a “stepping stone” to full BRICS membership.
“We will certainly promote our Belarusian friends as well as a number of other like-minded allies,” the minister said.
This year, Russia holds the rotating chairmanship of BRICS and has announced a “special mission” to seek new members. According to Yury Ushakov, the Russian president’s foreign policy aide, more than 30 countries have formally applied, including Thailand and Malaysia, who are the latest to have submitted their bids. Earlier this month, Zimbabwe also announced a desire to join the group.
Previously, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov outlined the primary condition that all aspiring BRICS members should meet as “non-participation in illegal sanctions policies, [and] illegal restrictive measures against any BRICS participant, first of all of course against Russia.”
He said that all current members had expressed their “full understanding” of that position, which Moscow considers essential as the group’s growth continues.
