Lavrov met with BRICS representatives: group discusses admission of Saudi Arabia and Iran

The foreign ministers of the current BRICS member states met in Cape Town, South Africa. The Member States have held out the prospect of extending the group.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with China's deputy foreign minister and other top BRICS diplomats on Thursday for talks, including the possible expansion of the group to include major oil-producing countries Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The BRICS group currently consists of Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa. The group of states is trying to strengthen its international influence.

Ahead of the talks at a luxury hotel by the sea in South Africa, Lavrov called the BRICS concept central to creating a "fairer" world order.

South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, who hosted the talks, confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to the major BRICS summit in South Africa scheduled for August, despite a politicized arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against him.

The meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa, as well as Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, on Thursday in Cape Town was a precursor to the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August and took place less than two weeks after the G7 summit in Japan.

"Against the background of the actions of the West, our countries should ... actively seek universal, common answers to the challenges of our time," Lavrov said. South Africa's ambassador to the BRICS countries, Anil Sooklal, called the West's military aid to Ukraine a factor that "fuels the conflict."

With the participation of Russia and China, the BRICS are increasingly seen as the antithesis of the G7 and the West, and an expansion of the bloc could strengthen the political and economic influence of Russia and China. A bloc that includes China, Russia and three of the world's largest oil-producing countries could be seen as a direct challenge to the U.S. and the West, some analysts said.

Lavrov held bilateral talks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Thursday on the sidelines of the meeting in Cape Town. The foreign ministers of at least fifteen countries, including some applying to join new members, have been invited to a second round of talks on Friday.

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