BRICS members are not bound by common obligations as is the case with the EU, but instead share common goals and interests, RT quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 22, Peskov explained that the BRICS group still "does not have the necessary attributes to be considered an organization," such as a charter or clearly defined rules.
Instead, Mr Peskov described BRICS as “an association of countries sharing common values and common principles”, and committed to the common principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit without “monocentrism”.
The Kremlin spokesman pointed out that the EU is an organization with its own legal documents, clear rules, binding documents and "a whole set of common obligations".
The 16th BRICS summit is being held in Kazan, Russia's fifth largest city, where dozens of foreign leaders are gathering for three days (October 22-24) for bilateral discussions and talks. BRICS aims to present a new vision of global multilateralism.
BRICS members are expected to take decisions on a number of important issues aimed at strengthening and improving cooperation within the group, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on October 22 during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also attending the 16th BRICS Summit.
"In Kazan, we must make a number of important decisions aimed at further improving activities and strengthening multifaceted cooperation within the BRICS framework," the Russian President said.
On the same day, October 22, President Putin held high-level meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Mr. Putin also met with President of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) Dilma Rousseff.
According to President Putin, about 30 countries have expressed interest in cooperating with BRICS in various forms.
BRICS is expected to announce new members at the summit, as well as introduce a new “partnership” status. According to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, a total of 13 countries are seeking partnership status.
BRIC was founded in 2006 with members Brazil, Russia, India, and China. After South Africa joined in 2010, the group changed its name to BRICS (an acronym for the five countries' English names). Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were added earlier this year. BRICS now accounts for about 46% of the world's population and more than 36% of global GDP.
