Russian minister attends meeting of developing economies as bloc discusses adding Saudi Arabia, Iran

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met with top diplomats from the BRICS bloc of developing economies for discussions that included the group’s possible expansion to include the major oil-producing nations of Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Ahead of Thursday’s talks in Cape Town, Lavrov cast BRICS as central to the establishment of a “more just” world order. The bloc’s name is an acronym for current members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa’s foreign minister confirmed that an invitation had been extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a larger summit scheduled for August despite Putin being the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.