Russian FM Lavrov says Argentina, Iran 'worthy of joining BRICS' as Moscow mulls expansion

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday said that that Argentina and Iran "are worthy of joining BRICS" and that the preparatory process for the bloc's expansion has been launched by Moscow and the partner countries. BRICS is a grouping of the world's leading emerging market economies and includes India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa as its members.  Speaking with the state affiliated news agency reporters on Tuesday, Russia's Foreign Minister  Lavrov said that he has held a meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian states to add more countries like Iran and Argentina to the alliance. 

Russia 'actively redirecting its trade flows'

Denouncing the international sanctions imposed against Russia that he stressed has been intended to destroy the economy of the Russian Federation, Putin said at the keynote speech at the BRICS summit that the bloc of five developing nations must strengthen their ties. Russia has been "actively redirecting its trade flows," he said, referring to the non-Western allies in Asia and the African continent.

Putin reminded that BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa's economies account for more than 40% of the global population, and contribute to nearly a quarter of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). Moscow pushed for the expansion of the alliance and included nine developing nations — Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Thailand — to this year's ‘BRICS Plus’ meeting. 

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Lavrov reiterated that both Argentina and Iran "are worthy and respected candidates, as well as a number of other countries that are also mentioned in the discussions." He went on to stress that the decision to add other members to BRICS will be determined by consensus. "The most important thing is that the preparatory process has been launched," the Russian foreign minister said, "The main criterion here will be to ensure further effectiveness and increase the practical impact of the bloc’s work" he added, according to Tass. 

Moscow endorses BRICS enlargement 

Russia has suggested that the BRICS countries — Brazil, China, India and South Africa which are the globe’s largest emerging economies— must undergo an expansion. It also endorsed the plan to create an “anti-sanctions” international payments system. Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told a state press briefing that it is integral for the BRICS nations to work out common rules for the potential enlargement of the alliance, and consider adding more candidates.

Russia's President Putin has also been seeking to internationalize Russia’s System for the Transfer of Financial Messages (SFPS) with his Asian and African allies. The "sanctions-free" alternative to the widely-used international payment method Swift system would facilitate safe interbank payments. Moscow launched the SFPS in 2017 to outdo the Western sanctions as the US cut Russian banks’ access to Swift.