TUNIS, December 16. /TASS/. Syria calls on BRICS countries to aid its reconstruction, Mohammed Alloush, a Syrian politician and former head of the opposition delegation at the Syria talks in Geneva and Astana, told TASS.
"BRICS is a group of large countries with strong economies. We are a destroyed country <...>. We are urging BRICS countries to help the Syrian people with reconstruction," he responded to a TASS question about Syria’s potential accession to the bloc. In Alloush’s opinion, there are "no objections" to Syria joining BRICS, however, he expressed doubt that its "presence in the bloc would be beneficial" at this stage.
Earlier on Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Russia’s Sherpa in the BRICS Sergey Ryabkov stated in an interview with the TASS Analytical Center that BRICS would "undoubtedly" consider Syria's application for accession if confirmed by the new Syrian authorities.
In October 2024, Syria’s Ambassador to Russia Bashar Jaafari said that the country wished to join BRICS and had already submitted a membership application.
Mohammed Alloush is one of the founders of the Jaysh al-Islam coalition, where he headed its political wing. In 2016, he was appointed chief negotiator for the opposition during the Syrian peace talks in Geneva. In 2017, he headed the Syrian opposition delegation at the Astana meeting.
At the end of November, armed opposition groups launched a large-scale offensive against the Syrian army’s positions. On December 8, they entered Damascus, after which government forces withdrew from the city. Bashar Assad resigned as President of Syria and left the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Salvation Government, formed by the opposition in the Idlib Province since January 2024, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government, which will last until March 1, 2025.