Excerpt
Maduro’s BRICS ambitions hit Brazilian roadblock as Kremlin denies expansion talks
Brazil's chief presidential adviser Celso Amorim has expressed opposition to Venezuela's bid to join the BRICS economic bloc, citing concerns about maintaining the group's 'special nature' and international influence.
'I am not in favour of Venezuela joining. I think we need to go slowly,' Amorim told CNN Brasil, warning against expanding the group too rapidly. 'There is no point in filling BRICS with countries, otherwise a new G-77 will soon be created.'
The comments come as BRICS members meet in Kazan, Russia. The bloc, which represents about 46% of the world's population and over 36% of global GDP, currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, plus new entries Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Remarkably, Saudi Arabia has yet to ratify its membership after being invited to join last year, while several nations, including Cuba, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia, have expressed interest in accession.
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