ST. PETERSBURG, April 24. /TASS/. Damascus is seriously considering the idea of joining BRICS, Syrian Ambassador to Russian Bashar Jaafari told TASS.

"This is an idea that we are seriously thinking over," he said on the sidelines of the 12th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues when asked whether Syria might join BRICS in the future. "The idea to join BRICS+ is on our agenda," the diplomat added.

The BRICS group, established in 2006, first expanded in 2011, when South Africa joined the four founding nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The decision to invite six more countries to join BRICS, including Argentina, was made at the group’s summit in Johannesburg in August 2023. However, Argentina declined the invitation to join in late December. Five new members (Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia) formally became full-fledged members of the BRICS group on January 1. The integration is non-bloc in its nature and it is not aimed at third parties.