Russia cautious on new members for BRICS

MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. Problems could lie ahead in any early moves to invite new member states into the BRICS assembly of emerging market economies, a Russian diplomat warned on Friday. "BRICS has a moratorium even on discussing new candidates," said the Foreign Ministry's envoy to the group, Vadim Lukov. "The pursuit of quantity" could lead to trouble, he warned. Lukov was speaking to reporters in measured comments on prospects for Argentina joining BRICS alongside members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Prospects existed, however, for "industry co-operation" within BRICS alongside "strategic partnership and co-operation within the United Nations and other international forums", he said. This could lead to broad contact within the Group of 20 leading economies in addressing problems of sovereign debt and support for Argentina in developing a convention with the International Monetary Fund, he added. "There is a time for everything," the diplomat said, noting that admission for new members might eventually be possible. "We need to establish co-operation in more than 20 formats," he said in an apparent reference to building relationships with G20 nations. "When we see that it works, we can talk about possible expansion." BRICS countries collectively represent about 26 percent of the world’s geographic area and are home to 42 percent of the world’s population. In 2013, BRICS countries' share of global trade stood at 16.1 percent, 10.8 percent of military spending and 40.2 percent in production of non-renewable energy resources. The group's consumer market is the world's largest, growing by $500 billion a year. Read more