"By an overwhelming majority of votes in ‘the ten’ it was decided to take a pause on new members and ‘digest’ the newcomers, who have doubled its ranks," Lavrov said after hosting the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in Nizhny Novgorod from June 10-11.
BRICS will use the pause to draw up a list of categories for BRICS partner countries that will serve as stepping stones toward full membership, Lavrov said. Russia will promote Belarus and other "like-minded countries," he added.
On June 4, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Ankara would like to join BRICS and would monitor the developments in the organization. Several other countries, including Thailand and Bolivia, have also voiced their interest in joining the organization.
BRICS was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for the largest emerging economies, uniting Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined the group in 2010. Russia assumed the bloc's rotating presidency on January 1. On the same day, BRICS expanded its membership to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has not formalized its participation but has been taking part in BRICS meetings.