Russia announced today that the inclusion of new countries into the BRICS group will enhance its stature and strengthen the organization, marking the most explicit support from Moscow for the proposal to expand the group. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “Of course, we believe that, in one way or another, the expansion of BRICS will contribute to the development and strengthening of this organization.”
This statement followed remarks by Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who suggested that it is "extremely important" for Saudi Arabia to join BRICS, along with Argentina and the UAE, if they wish to do so. Peskov indicated that Russia maintains constructive relations with the three countries but emphasized, “We do not believe we need to jump the gun” regarding specific candidate countries for membership before discussing the matter at the BRICS summit to be held in South Africa from August 22 to 24.
Currently, the BRICS group, consisting of emerging economies, includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Moscow views the group's increasing significance as a counterweight to the West led by the United States in global affairs. Strengthening BRICS is part of Russia's vision to reduce U.S. dominance and create a "multipolar" world.
Moscow highly values relations with developing countries that have refrained from condemning Russian actions in Ukraine and seeks to enhance trade with them as part of an effort to counteract the impact of Western sanctions imposed on its economy.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Moscow at the BRICS summit this month, after Russian President Vladimir Putin opted not to attend due to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against him for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, which Moscow denies.
