Russia Lists Criteria Used To Admit Applicants Into BRICS

The Russian Government has disclosed the criteria the (BRIC) economic bloc used in admitting Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia as members out of 23 applications.

Russia, a founding member of BRICS, revealed the criteria through its foreign affairs minister, Sergey Lavrov, that exposing and disagreeing with the alleged hegemony of the West led by the United States, remain core objectives of BRICS.

In his speech shared on the Russian Telegram channel on Sunday, Lavrov was said to have disclosed that only countries with like-minded foreign policies with Russia, China and other BRICS members were chosen.

BRICS was created in 2009 to dislodge what it described as US global dominance.

“We had quite a lively discussion on this matter. I cannot say that there were no issues at all, but all the countries involved were committed to arriving at a decision on accepting new countries into our group.

“Of course, we relied on the criteria and procedures as approved for our partner countries. The weight, prominence and importance of the candidates and their international standing were the primary factors for us.

“It is our shared view that we must recruit like-minded countries into our ranks that believe in a multipolar world order and the need for more democracy and justice in international relations.

“We need those who champion a bigger role for the Global South in global governance. Six countries whose accession was announced today fully meet these criteria,” he said.

He added “They all expressed their desire to join our group. Of the 23 applications we received, we reviewed six, and I have just listed them.”

Explaining the criteria further, he linked them to dissatisfaction with the Western hegemony allegedly led by the United States.

“I believe that it stems from the fact that countries willing to forge closer ties with the five BRICS nations have a keen understanding of the deep-running international processes.

“They exposed the West in its relentless efforts to preserve its hegemony at any cost. And they understand all too well the causes which compel the West to pursue its objectives. In this case, it has been exploiting Ukraine to target the Russian Federation. All this was part of our discussions and conversations with the countries represented at the meetings in Johannesburg. This hegemonism has a global span – that much is clear,” he added.

Russia and the United States are at loggerheads on the international scene, especially with the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.