After Russia invaded Ukraine, BRICS foreign ministers are convening in South Africa from Thursday to provide a counterweight to Western geopolitical domination.
The negotiations precede an August conference in Johannesburg that may include Russian President Vladimir Putin, who the ICC wants.
It accused him of war crimes in March by forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied Ukraine. Moscow rejects them. South Africa invited Putin in January.
According to South African officials, Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa’s foreign ministers will attend Thursday’s Cape Town meeting. China’s deputy minister.
Analysts suggested negotiations will enhance links among existing members and examine group enlargement.
“BRICS is positioning itself as an alternative to the West and a way to make space for emerging powers,” said Cobus van Staden of the South African Institute of International Affairs.
Since the Ukraine crisis began in February 2022, BRICS has become more substantial, initially driven by Beijing and now by Moscow.
A South African foreign ministry source said BRICS’ New Development Bank, which ceased funding Russia due to sanctions, would meet on Thursday.
BRICS officials are open to adding new members, including oil producers, amid global polarization caused by the Ukraine war.
Officials listed Venezuela, Argentina, Iran, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE as applicants or interested parties.
“If they can bring in the oil producer countries that will be key, given the petrodollar system,” said South African political expert William Gumede, who has written extensively on BRICS.
South Africa, the bloc’s smallest member, is a major champion. The ICC announcement against Putin has impacted its Aug. 22-24 summit preparations.
If Putin attended the Johannesburg meeting, ICC member South Africa would be pressured to arrest him.
Putin has not confirmed his plans, but the Kremlin said Russia would participate at the “proper level.”
South Africa is unsure. Pretoria will fulfill its ICC responsibilities but is considering hosting Putin or transferring the meeting to China.
Independent political analyst Nic Borain said the government was trapped between its support for BRICS and friendship with Russia and the expected backlash from crucial Western economic allies.
“The best solution for South Africa is if Putin decided not to come.”
