MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Turning BRICS into a full-fledged international organization is an issue open for discussion, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and BRICS Sherpa Sergey Ryabkov said at a press conference following the association’s summit in Kazan.

"Whether BRICS should be put into a regime that would mean its transformation into a full-fledged international organization with a legal identity, with a charter, based on an agreement, which in turn requires ratification, and so on, is a debatable issue. This question remains open," he said.

"Our position was also reflected yesterday by the Russian president [Vladimir Putin] at a press conference in Kazan. We will act, our delegation to BRICS no longer as chairman, but as an ordinary participant in BRICS next year, we will interact with the Brazilian chairmanship and with other members of the association, strictly following this policy," Ryabkov said.

The 16th BRICS summit, which has become a key event of Russia's chairmanship in the association, took place in Kazan on October 22-24. On the second day of the summit, the participants adopted the Kazan Declaration. The main topics of the document include the development of the association, its position on global issues, settlement of regional crises, including those in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The BRICS group was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia joined the association. The Kazan Summit was the first time they participated as full members.