Russia's Lavrov Says Algeria Among 'Leading Contenders' for BRICS Membership

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Algeria was one of the leading candidates for joining BRICS amid the alliance's efforts to develop common approaches to admitting new members.

In November, Algeria submitted the official application to join BRICS. In December, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed the hope that his country could join the alliance in 2023.

"Formal requests to join have already been received from several states... Algeria is among these countries. At the recent meeting of the BRICS Five, held this year under the Chinese chairmanship, we agreed on the need to develop common approaches to such requests. As the first step, we will agree on the criteria, parameters and conditions for the admission of new members to our association. Algeria, due to all its merits, is among the leading contenders," Lavrov said in an interview with RT Arabic.

The minister noted that it was necessary to find a format for expanding the alliance that would reflect legitimate interests of the members in promoting justice and democracy in international relations. He stressed that the format had no place for hegemony, as opposed to those the US built under the slogan of "globalization" while abusing the role of the dollar as the global currency and creating other monopolies.

Lavrov also said that Algeria would not "obey instructions that directly contradict its national interests" when talking about Washington's pressure on countries to impose sanctions against Russia. A group of US congressmen had earlier asked US State Secretary Antony Blinken to "punish" Algeria for refusing to support sanctions against Russia, the minister recalled.

"Like the vast majority of other nations, Algeria is a country that respects itself, its history and its interests. It is on this basis that the republic builds its policy, not relying on behind-the-scenes arrangements with those who promise 'carrots,' but in fact try only to infringe the legitimate interests of its 'partners,'" Lavrov added.

BRICS is an association of the world's major developing economies which was formed in 2006 to enhance cooperation among these nations and elaborate common approaches to global economic challenges. The association comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa but is looking to accept new members. Potential candidates for accession are Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Turkey.