Argentina formally notifies Russia it's not planning to join BRICS - deputy FM

MOSCOW. Feb 15 (Interfax) - Argentina has informed Russia it is not planning to join BRICS and will stay outside the group, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

"As for Argentina, indeed, its new government has formally notified us and other BRICS members that it will not use the invitation given by the leaders in Johannesburg," Ryabkov said at a press conference on Thursday.

"Hence, Argentina will stay outside BRICS," Ryabkov said.

According to him, BRICS "does not dramatize" the situation, and the invitation to Argentina has not been withdrawn and remains valid.

"Let us wait and see what happens, in particular, how BRICS develops and what conclusions our Argentine colleagues [will] draw," Ryabkov said.

It was reported in late December 2023, that Argentine President Javier Milei confirmed the refusal to join BRICS in letters to the group heads of state.

"At this stage, Argentina's entry into BRICS as a full member on January 1, 2024, does not look expedient," Milei said in a letter to Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.