Indian Foreign Ministry denies reports of New Delhi’s objection to BRICS expansion
[ad_1]
India does not object to the expansion of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the publication with such statements is not true. This was stated by the official representative of the Indian Foreign Ministry Arindam Bagchi.
“We are approaching this with an open mind and a positive attitude. We have seen some unsubstantiated speculation and you have also mentioned some of it that India has reservations against enlargement. It’s just not true,” he said, when asked about the Bloomberg publication (quote according to RIA Novosti).
Bagci noted that the BRICS member countries are now discussing “principles, standards, criteria and procedures” for the BRICS expansion process.
At the end of July, Bloomberg, citing officials familiar with the situation, informedthat India and Brazil oppose China’s proposal to expand the BRICS at the expense of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
Earlier today, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the position of Russia on the entry into the BRICS of Argentina, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, urged “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” According to him, Russia adheres to the position that, in one form or another, the expansion of the BRICS will contribute to the development and strengthening of the organization. “In what form and to what extent, we will discuss during the upcoming summit,” he said.
Prior to this, the Kremlin spokesman pointed to “certain nuances” in the approaches of the association’s member states. He added that such interest in the group testifies to the great potential of the association, its growing authority, “and most importantly, the applied significance” of BRICS.
The BRICS summit will be held in Johannesburg (South Africa) from 22 to 24 August. It will be held in person for the first time in three years. Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept participation in the summit via video link. Directly on the site, Moscow will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
[ad_2]
Source link
