Foreign ministers from the Brics countries are meeting in South Africa from Thursday as the five-nation bloc seeks to forge itself into a counterweight to Western geopolitical dominance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The talks are a prelude to an August summit in Johannesburg that has already created controversy because of the possible attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
No agenda has been made public, but analysts said discussions would aim to deepen ties among existing members and consider an expansion of the group. Discussions of Brics' New Development Bank, which stopped funding projects in Russia to comply with sanctions, were expected on Thursday, a South African foreign ministry source said.Amid the growing geopolitical polarisation resulting from the war in Ukraine, Brics leaders have said they are open to admitting new members, including oil producing countries.
As an ICC member South Africa would face pressure to arrest Putin, were he to attend the meeting in Johannesburg.
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