MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. About 30 countries want to establish partnership ties with BRICS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"In addition to the countries that have already joined our union, as of today, about 30 countries would like to establish partner ties with BRICS," he said at a session of United Russia’s commission on international cooperation and support for compatriots abroad.

According to Lavrov, the aspiration of many countries to become closer with the alliance is "natural given that BRICS is operating on a genuinely democratic and mutually respectful basis." "We will continue to work on BRICS bolstering its positions as one of the pillars of a multipolar world," the top Russian diplomat noted.