BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in South Africa and Expansion of Membership

China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa BRICS = 5 Emerging Countries Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Cape Town, South Africa from the 1st.

On the 2nd, representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Cuba, which were interested in joining the BRICS, held a meeting and exchanged views on expanding membership.

Regarding the expansion of member countries, it is said that about 20 countries have shown interest in joining so far, while China is actively promoting it to compete with the United States and others.

However, there are calls for Russia to create clear criteria for new membership, such as showing its opposition to the membership of countries that are imposing sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. It is expected that a policy regarding expansion will be presented at the summit meeting scheduled for the month.

On the other hand, South Africa, the chair country of this year’s summit, is also a member of the ICC = International Criminal Court, so there is an arrest warrant from the ICC. You will lose.

The South African government says it is “considering various legal options,” and if President Putin attends the summit meeting face-to-face, what kind of response will the South African side take?