President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has been invited to the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan, as confirmed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, Azernews reports, citing TASS.

Moscow has officially endorsed Baku’s application for BRICS membership.

Ryabkov expressed strong support for Azerbaijan’s bid, stating, “We are very pleased about Azerbaijan’s application. We believe that Azerbaijan is a strong candidate that will bring additional dynamism and unique experiences to BRICS, particularly through its ability to handle multiple agendas in a constructive manner, which aligns with BRICS' values.”

The diplomat further explained that discussions are ongoing regarding the designation of partner states, a process initiated during the previous summit in Johannesburg. “We are exploring various options and algorithms for establishing a list of partner states for the Kazan summit. Nonetheless, we firmly support Azerbaijan’s accession to BRICS,” Ryabkov emphasized.