RIO DE JANEIRO, August 22. /TASS/. BRICS, a group that brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is unanimous in its desire to admit new members, but needs to hammer out a procedure that countries will have to follow to join, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said.

"BRICS has potential for expansion. I know that China, India, South Africa and Russia want it. We want it too. Obviously, it is necessary to establish a certain accession procedure so we don’t end up tomorrow with someone joining us while actually being against BRICS," he said in a weekly interview on his social media.

According to the Brazilian president, BRICS should not remain a private club like the Group of Seven.

"This is a club of the rich, and when we are invited to G7 meetings, it is not as members of the club, but as guests. We do not want a repeat of this," he said.

The BRICS summit is taking place in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24 and is set to be the largest meeting of heads of state and government of the Global South in recent years. Invitations have been sent to the leaders of 54 African countries. The Russian delegation at the event will be headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate by video link. According to the Kremlin, the summit will conclude by passing the Johannesburg Declaration of the 15th BRICS summit.