MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. Saudi Arabia has not disavowed its accession to BRICS and has already attended two group events in 2024, thus making the intergovernmental organization’s new composition clear, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who serves as Moscow’s Sherpa in the group, said in an interview for the premier issue of the TASS "BRICS Bulletin."

"The situation regarding the composition [of BRICS] is quite clear. [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin announced in his January 1 statement that five countries were joining BRICS, including Saudi Arabia. And the country did not repudiate it, nor did it give any commentary that this information was false," the senior diplomat pointed out. He emphasized that Riyadh has already attended "at least two BRICS events held under Russia’s chairmanship."

According to Ryabkov, Saudi representatives told Moscow that "the work on the corresponding decision [on accession] continues." "We respect that. We noticed that their Sherpa did not attend the first meeting of Sherpas and Sous-Sherpas in Moscow, but [that fact] neither repudiates nor cancels all of the above," the senior diplomat pointed out.

The BRICS group initially included Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined the association in 2011. On January 1, 2024, new members Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia formally joined BRICS, while Argentina declined the group’s invitation to join.