MOSCOW 

The Russian deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday that the countries of the economic bloc BRICS may present an alternative payment system at the upcoming summit of the leaders scheduled for Oct. 22-24 in the city of Kazan.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Sergey Ryabkov said that another project is being worked out, a platform for selling grain.

Commenting on Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's remarks about Türkiye's interest in joining BRICS, Ryabkov said it was "noticed and fixed."

Ryabkov also emphasized a balanced approach of the BRICS countries to the international affairs, noting in particular the "accuracy and precision" of the association's comments regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Following a meeting in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on June 10, the foreign ministers of the BRICS countries expressed "grave concern" over the deterioration of the situation in the Palestinian enclave, saying the unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli military operation led to mass civilian displacement, death and casualties, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Israel, which has flouted a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 37,350 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 85,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.