Moscow, ,1/8: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that expanding the BRICS group of nations would be a topic high on the agenda of the group’s upcoming summit in South Africa on Aug. 22-24.
BRICS’ current members are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa said last month that more than 40 other nations had expressed interest in joining the grouping, which seeks to offset the perceived hegemony of the US-led West in global affairs.
“This is a very important topic because we see that more and more countries are making statements about their intention of joining BRICS,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a regular news briefing.
While acknowledging “nuances” within the current five-nation group about expanding its membership, Peskov said the fact that such a debate was taking place “testifies to the great potential of the association, (its) growing authority”.