The BRICS leaders’ summit will take place in a couple of months, and French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly expressed interest in attending. However, Russia believes it would be “inappropriate” for the French president to attend. “Clearly, leaders of states that pursue such a hostile and unacceptable policy towards us” are inappropriate BRICS guests, said a top Russian official.
Russia Says No to Macron Attending BRICS Summit
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was asked by reporters Thursday about the possible participation of French President Emmanuel Macron in the upcoming BRICS leaders’ summit. South Africa is currently holding the BRICS presidency and is hosting the summit in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24. The BRICS nations comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
The Russian official told reporters that Russia has informed its South African partners that the presence of the French president at the upcoming BRICS summit would be “inappropriate.” He was quoted by Tass publication as saying: “We have sent a signal that, with all due respect to the prerogatives of the host [South Africa] to invite individual guests, it is necessary to proceed from the fact that BRICS is an alliance of countries that categorically rejects the use of unilateral sanctions for resolving foreign policy issues. Given this, the presence of Western officials would clearly be inappropriate there.”
Ryabkov was further quoted by RIA news agency as saying:
Clearly, leaders of states that pursue such a hostile and unacceptable policy towards us, discussing with such emphasis and conviction that Russia should be isolated on the international stage, and share the common NATO line on inflicting a so-called strategic defeat on us — such a leader is an inappropriate BRICS guest.
“And we are not hiding this approach of ours, we have told our colleagues from South Africa. We expect that our point of view will be fully accepted,” the official added.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently said that Russia does not know in what capacity or for what reasons Macron might attend the BRICS leaders’ summit, Tass conveyed, quoting Peskov as saying: “Frankly speaking, we don’t know in what capacity or why. We don’t have such information at hand.”
French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna said Tuesday following talks in Johannesburg with her South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, that Macron would consider taking part in the BRICS summit should he be formally invited. She noted that the decision to invite the French president “must be taken, not by France, but by the BRICS and first and foremost by South Africa, which is the host of the summit.”
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