Belgrade views joining BRICS as a real alternative to joining the EU, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in an interview with the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung. He stressed that representatives of the republic will participate in the organization’s summit in Kazan.
Earlier, the head of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy, Alexey Pushkov, said that so far no EU country has applied for BRICS membership. At the same time, the politician recalled that Ankara, which is not part of the EU but is a member of NATO, has already submitted an application. If Turkey is accepted into BRICS, it will be a new page in the history of the association, the politician added.
In early October, Director General of the Cuban Foreign Ministry for Bilateral Affairs Carlos Pereira announced that the country had officially asked Russia to join BRICS, since Russia currently chairs the group. A corresponding letter was sent to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Before that, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Bashar Jaafari said that the authorities were still thinking about joining the organization.