More than 40 heads of state to attend BRICS summit

South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Nelson Kgwete informed TASS that the leaders of more than 40 countries will take part in the BRICS summit on August 22-24.

Now 23 countries have applied to join the BRICS. Beijing supports the expansion of the “five” and the accession of new partners to it, reported the press service of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. With a similar position spoke and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

August 2 Reuters wrote citing three Brazilian officials that Brazil is the main opponent of the expansion of the BRICS group, since this could lead to the loss of the authoritative status of the BRICS. At the same time, Bloomberg sources toldthat India and Brazil oppose China’s proposal to expand the BRICS at the expense of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. On August 16, Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar informedthat India has an open view on the admission of new members to the BRICS, but specific criteria are needed for this.

In the Kremlin before declaredthat 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. According to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, during the BRICS summit, it will be discussed in what form and volume this can happen.

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,” stated she “Vedomosti”.

The BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will be held in Johannesburg (South Africa). It will be held in person for the first time in three years. Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the summit via video link. Directly on the site, Moscow will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.