MOSCOW. July 3 (Interfax) - BRICS does not close the door to new members, and the current pause is a question to be addressed to all group members, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday.
"Whether the pause is long or short is the question to be addressed to all members, rather than the Russian presidency only," Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow.
"This year's presidency is focused, in the first turn, on integrating the new members in every cooperation mechanism - this process has been quite successful - and, secondly, on developing categories of partner states - what we can offer countries wishing closer relations with BRICS from the angle of cooperation format," he said.
"Obviously, this is not equivalent to full membership, but do agree it would be naive to expect further enlargement each year. I think that countries showing interest in BRICS and wishing to join the group have realized the complexity of the instant and constant enlargement. We should stay focused on practical results of this process," Ryabkov said.
"A balance between one rapprochement goal and another is what the Russian presidency is looking for together with other BRICS members, and I have no doubt that we will achieve serious, reasonable, well-considered and balanced results by the Kazan" summit, he said.
"BRICS does not close the door to anyone while realizing that the group, the structure eventually works for the common good of its members and must deliver practical results to the peoples whose governments agreed on the need to bolster cooperation within the group," Ryabkov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that BRICS members had agreed by an overwhelming majority of votes to "take a pause" in the admission of new members.
BRICS, which initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was joined by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates on January 1, 2024. As reported, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Cuba, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, the State of Palestine, Senegal and Thailand have formally applied for joining the group.
The first summit of the expanded BRICS will take place in Kazan on October 22-24, 2024.