Media: Brazil is the main opponent of the expansion of the BRICS

Brazil is the main opponent of the expansion of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), since this may lead to the loss of the authoritative status of BRICS. About it informed Reuters, citing three Brazilian officials.

“An extension can turn a block into something else. Brazil’s position was related to the cohesion of the group and the preservation of our space in the group of important countries,” one of the sources said.

In order for new states to join the BRICS, the consent of all members of the group is required. At the same time, Brazilian officials admit that “Brazil will have to give in” soon, because it is not in its nature to block something. Among the possible options for expanding the BRICS, sources called a situation in which “new members can be accepted as partner countries participating in summits without becoming full members, as in other international organizations.”

On August 1, Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Maita announced that on June 12, the country’s president officially notified about the desire of Bolivia to join the BRICS. At the end of February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov informedthat about 20 countries expressed their desire to join the BRICS. According to Reuters, 22 countries, including Egypt, Algeria, Iran and Argentina, have already submitted official applications.

Earlier, 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. According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, the BRICS does not yet have a single mechanism for admitting new members. “It is only being worked out, and all aspects are collectively discussed,” she told Vedomosti.

Later, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the expansion of the BRICS “is high on the agenda, including the agenda of the upcoming summit,” this topic is being worked on. According to Peskov, at the BRICS summit, which will be held in South Africa this year, the member countries of the group will discuss the nuances of expanding the alliance.

The BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will be held in South Africa from 22 to 24 August. It will be held in person for the first time in three years. The leaders of four states will come to it, and Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the summit via video link. Directly at the summit, Moscow will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.