MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/. Only countries that don’t engage in a policy of illegal sanctions against other countries can be admitted to BRICS, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.

"One of the key criteria for the BRICS membership or for being admitted as a partner state is the applicants’ non-participation in the policy of illegal sanctions, illegal restrictions against any of the BRICS members, first of all, Russia," he told a news conference at TASS.

This position, according to Ryabkov, "is met with full understanding" and Russia hopes that "it [this position] will preserve its pivotal character in the future." "But it is an incontestable fact that BRICS will go on expanding and will find new formats of cooperation," he stressed. "So far, there are ten of us. We are through the adjustment period and are working as a team."

"Work on the constructive agenda is what distinguishes BRICS from many other associations and it will become more and more fruitful in practical terms," he added.