BRICS countries have decided by an overwhelming majority to "take a pause" on the issue of admitting new members, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This announcement was made during his meeting with Natalia Kochanova, Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic (the upper house of the National Assembly) of Belarus.
"By an overwhelming majority in the 'ten,' it was decided to take a pause with new members to 'digest' the newly arrived ones, which doubled the group's composition," Lavrov noted during the meeting, the text of which is published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
"At the same time, categories of partner countries are being prepared - steps before full membership. We will definitely promote our Belarusian friends, as well as a number of other like-minded countries," Lavrov added. He was on an official visit to Minsk from June 24 to 25.
The BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting was held in Nizhny Novgorod on June 10-11. This was the first meeting of the heads of diplomatic departments of BRICS countries after the expansion of the group, which also included the foreign ministers of several non-member countries. In August 2023, six new members, including Argentina, were invited to join BRICS. However, Argentina declined the invitation at the end of December. The five new members - Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia - began their work in BRICS on January 1.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on TASS materials