ISTANBUL

Russia on Friday said it will prioritize the candidacies of Kazakhstan and Belarus into BRICS, as the group admitted six new members at the 15th summit in Johannesburg and has left the door open for further enlargement.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Argentina will formally become new members on Jan. 1, 2024, while many more countries are said to have expressed interest in joining the economic bloc.

"Kazakhstan and Belarus, of course, are among our closest partners. Of course, we will give priority to these countries when we consider the further course,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told a press briefing in Moscow.

Expressing that leaders of BRICS, whose current members are China, Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa, show an “undeniable” interest in its expansion, Ryabkov said Moscow has no doubt that the new entrants will contribute to its objectives.

Ryabkov said the new members possess “a rich history, culture, large economic potential, and play a significant role not only in their region, but also in the international arena," adding that 15 other applications are under consideration.

“It is important that they all not only support, but share the fundamental values of the BRICS, including the spirit of solidarity, equality, mutual respect, openness, inclusiveness, mutually beneficial cooperation,” the minister said.

“The main thing is that there is political will, there is a firm mindset to move forward.”

He said the goal of Russia, which will host next year's summit in the city of Kazan, is to strengthen the bloc’s role and authority, adding that invitation to countries from the “Western group” is “absolutely excluded.”

The bloc was founded as a four-nation club in 2009 and added South Africa a year later.

Biden's comments reflect 'general disregard for diplomatic methods'

Ryabkov also commented on US President Joe Biden's remarks on Wednesday's plane crash in Russia's northwestern Tver region, which killed all 10 passengers onboard, including Wagner paramilitary group head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"I think Washington officials' reasoning about what is happening in our country is a reflection of the general disregard for diplomatic methods to a blatant extent. Still, it is not for the US president, in my opinion, to talk about certain tragic events of this nature," he said.

Biden, after getting briefed on the incident, had said: “I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised.

“There’s not much that happens in Russia that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s not behind. But I don’t know enough to know the answer.”