Sergei Ryabkov, the deputy foreign minister of Russia, gave a press conference on Thursday regarding the BRICS Summit that will take place in Russia later this month.
According to Ryabkov, thirty delegations had confirmed their attendance, and additional countries could be considered for membership, such as Turkey, which filed a bid to join the organisation in September.
Ryabkov also said that Ukraine might be on the October summit agenda, saying that “Russia was and remains open to a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict.”
The BRICS alliance was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010, but has recently undergone a major expansion, and now includes Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has said it’s considering joining and Azerbaijan has formally applied.
It has grown to become one of the most powerful blocs in the world, after G7, and EU.