The Cuban leadership has requested BRICS partner state status in a message to Russian President, Vladimir Putin. This was announced by Carlos Pereira, Director General for Bilateral Relations of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Cuba has submitted an official request to join BRICS as a partner country in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin who is the chairman of the grouping which is consolidating global politics and the hope of the Global South as a key player,” the senior Cuban diplomat said in a statement on his page on X.
On Monday, Russian Ambassador to Cuba, Viktor Koronelli, told Russian news agency TASS in an interview that Havannah had officially applied for partnership status at BRICS. He also confirmed that Cuba’s leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, has the invitation to take part in BRICS Plus/Outreach, an extended meeting of the grouping at the coming summit from Oct. 22-24 in the Russian city of Kazan.
The Caribbean country’s bid to join the bloc arrives shortly after Azerbaijan confirmed it is also pushing for membership, following a meeting between Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Shortly after Putin landed in the capital, Baku, for bilateral talks last week, Aliyev hailed the fact that “our economic and trade relations are progressing successfully” despite global challenges.
The pair enjoy a rosy relationship. They signed a “declaration on allied interaction” in February 2022, just days before the Second Russia-Ukraine conflict began.
At the same time, however, Azerbaijan has become an increasingly critical energy partner for Europe, having signed a deal in mid-2022 with European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, to help the continent wean itself off Russian oil and gas. The fossil fuel-rich state has since become a major trading partner for the EU, despite calls in Brussels for it to face sanctions over human rights abuses.
Azerbaijan will host this year’s COP29 United Nationals climate talks, with diplomats, experts and environmental activists heading to Baku for the high-profile meeting.
Membership of BRICS is invitation-only, but multiple countries were given the chance to join at the start of this year, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Argentina also received an invitation but said it won’t join.
Putin has sought to brand BRICS as an alliance of “the global majority” as part of Moscow’s efforts to challenge a dominant West and evade sanctions related to Russia’s war on Ukraine. The group has also been at the forefront of a push to replace the dollar as the key currency of international trade.
The main event during Russia’s BRICS presidency will be the BRICS summit to be held in Kazan in two weeks. Leaders of BRICS+ nations, including Venezuela, have been invited to attend.
