Russia Supports Belarus' Bid to Join BRICS, Deputy Foreign Minister Says

MINSK (Sputnik) - Moscow supports the application of Belarus to become a member state of the BRICS bloc of countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has told Belarusian broadcaster CTB.
Sputnik
"We support the application of Belarus to BRICS," Ryabkov said on Tuesday.
The deputy foreign minister added that Belarus "is strong in all three main directions where BRICS functions," namely in politics and security, economy and finances, humanitarian contacts, people-to-people ties, and cultural interactions.
Belarus applied to join BRICS last year. Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleinik has said Minsk hopes to attain a new status in BRICS at the organization's summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October.
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