BRICS foreign ministers are meeting in South Africa as the five-member bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and the South African Republic (SAA) seeks to assert itself as a counterweight to Western geopolitical dominance following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The talks are a prelude to the summit that will be held in Johannesburg in August, which has already caused controversy because it is possible that Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in it, for whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant, reports Hina. citing Reuters.
In March, the ICC charged Putin with war crimes for illegally deporting children from Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation. Moscow denies the accusations, and JAR invited Putin back in January.
South African authorities have confirmed that foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa are attending the meeting in Cape Town. The deputy minister represents China.
'Deepening Connections'
No agenda has been made public, but analysts said the talks aim to deepen ties between existing members and consider expanding the group.
"BRICS is being positioned as an alternative to the West and as a way to make room for new powers," said Kobus van Staden of the South African Institute of International Relations.
In the past, BRICS was understood as a loose and mostly symbolic form of cooperation between emerging economies, but in the past few years it has taken a more concrete form, which was initially encouraged by Beijing, and then by Moscow since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Ministers are also expected to discuss BRICS' New Development Bank, which has stopped financing projects in Russia to comply with sanctions, a South African foreign ministry source said.
Membership of oil producing countries?
BRICS leaders have said they are open to the idea of admitting new members, including oil-producing countries, amid growing geopolitical polarization as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Venezuela, Argentina, Iran, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are on the list of countries that have already formally applied for membership or expressed interest, officials said.
"If they can bring in the oil producing countries, that will be key, given the petrodollar system," said William Gumed, a South African political analyst.
South Africa, although the smallest member of the group, is one of its biggest advocates.
However, her preparations for the summit, which will take place from August 22 to 24, were further disrupted by the ICC's publication of the warrant for Putin's arrest.
Unclear position of JAR
As a member of the ICC, South Africa would face pressure to arrest Putin if he attended the meeting in Johannesburg.
Putin has not confirmed his intention, and the Kremlin only says that Russia will participate at an "appropriate level".
JAR's position is not clear. Pretoria has said it will honor its commitments to ICC membership, but the government is still considering Putin's arrival or even moving the summit to China.
Independent political analyst Nick Borain said the government has found itself in an awkward situation, on the one hand, where it has to choose between its support for BRICS and friendship with Putin on the one hand, and a possible strong negative reaction from key Western economic partners on the other.
"Obviously, the best solution for South Africa is for Putin to decide not to come," he added, according to Al Jazeera.
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