Russia has acquired another ally - Algeria plans to join BRICS
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune plans for the country, Africa's largest natural gas exporter, to join the BRICS economic group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa and China.
AFP reports this.
Tebboune's comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is under Western sanctions, in June called on BRICS leaders to move toward "forming a truly multipolar system of intergovernmental relations."
“BRICS interests us as an alternative to traditional centers of power,” Tebboune said in a television interview. “They constitute an economic and political force.”
He stressed that there was no need to “get ahead of ourselves,” but promised “good news.”
Algeria's president added that his North African country meets "a significant part" of the economic criteria to join the bloc.
During a May visit to Algeria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that trade turnover between the two countries reached $3 billion last year.
Currently, BRICS members account for almost a quarter of the world's gross domestic product.
Western sanctions have pushed Russia to search for new markets and strengthen ties with countries in Africa and Asia.
Algeria abstained when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in March demanding Russia immediately withdraw its troops from Ukraine. China, India and South Africa also abstained.
Russia has acquired another ally: Algeria plans to join BRICS.