MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/. Russia considers discussions of a new wave of BRICS expansion premature, taking into account the twofold increase of the association that has already taken place, Deputy Foreign Minister and Russia's BRICS sherpa Sergey Ryabkov told the New Eastern Outlook online edition in an interview, the text of which is available on the website of the Russian diplomatic office.

"Given this year’s twofold expansion of BRICS, it is probably still a bit premature to talk about a new wave. We cannot forget about the need to maintain the achieved level of practical cooperation within BRICS and ensure high quality of effective results from the mechanisms that have already been established," the deputy minister said. "However, we cannot ignore the growing interest of the countries of the global South and East in strengthening contacts with BRICS," Ryabkov continued.

He noted that over thirty countries have already expressed their desire to join the association in one way or another. "The doors of the union remain open to all those who are interested in a trusting and equal dialogue and who share the values of BRICS," he added.

The deputy minister also noted that following last year’s BRICS leaders’ meeting in South Africa, the foreign ministers were instructed to outline the conditions for the new category of "partner states" and compile a list of potential candidates. "This work is in its final stages. We expect to achieve a substantive result by the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan this October," he said.

The BRICS group has seen two waves of enlargement since its establishment in 2006. In 2011, South Africa joined the four founding nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. In August 2023, six new members, including Argentina, were invited to join the group. However, Argentina turned down the invitation in late December. Five new members — Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia — were integrated into the BRICS family on January 1, 2024.