Russia asked that Argentina and Iran be part of the economic group BRICS: “They are respected and decent”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The expansion process of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) through the integration of Argentina and Iran has already begun, announced Tuesday by the Russian Foreign Minister, Serguei Lavrov, who is on a working visit in Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan.

“Of course, both Argentina and Iran are worthy and respectable candidates (…) The most important thing is that the preliminary process has started,” he said at a press conference after holding a meeting with his counterparts from the countries bordering the Caspian Sea.

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The head of Russian diplomacy stressed that joining the Brics group must be agreed and pointed out that “the main criterion will be above all to guarantee the future effectiveness and increase in the practical results of this organization.”

Lavrov indicated that during the recent Brics summits, Russia underlined its willingness to evaluate the expansion of this group and Russian President Vladimir Putin “stressed that this debate is justified and timely.”

Russia viewed the requests as proof that the West, led by the United States, was failing to isolate Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine.

“While the White House was thinking about what else in the world to shut down, ban or spoil, Argentina and Iran applied to join the Brics,” said Maria Zakharova, director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Argentine President Alberto Fernández, who is currently in Europe, has reiterated in recent days his desire for Argentina to join the BRICS.

Indeed, the President participated in a Brics conference some 72 hours before the country’s official participation in the G7 summit, which is convened by Germany and will take place in a castle nestled in the Bavarian Alps.

The G7 is the geopolitical counterpart of the Brics, and its official discourse on the war in Ukraine questions the war story staged by Putin and defended by China.

Iran, which has the second-largest gas reserves in the world, has formally applied to join the BRICS group, adding that its membership “would mean added value for both parties.” This was stated by the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

China is by far the largest economy in the BRICS group, accounting for more than 70% of the group’s collective economic power, which amounts to US$27.5 trillion. India accounts for about 13%, and Russia and Brazil about 7% each, according to IMF data.

The BRICS bloc of emerging economies, established in 2009, represents already now more than 40% of the world population and about 26% of the global economy, Iran and Argentina excluded.