FILE PHOTO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, is shown greeting Joe Biden during the US president’s visit to Riyadh in July. ©  Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP

Saudi Arabia wants to join the BRICS alliance, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has stated, signaling a dramatic potential expansion of the bloc amid growing tensions with the US over the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Ramaphosa told reporters of Riyadh’s BRICS inquiry, as he wrapped up his two-day state visit to the desert kingdom on Sunday. The trip included meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi leaders. “The crown prince did express Saudi Arabia’s desire to be part of BRICS, and they are not the only country,” Ramaphosa said.

The group, which is named for member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is scheduled to meet next year in Johannesburg for its annual summit. Expansion prospects will likely be high on the agenda, as the bloc is expected to consider adding such nations as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Algeria.

“The BRICS nations are going to be meeting in a summit next year under the chairship of South Africa, and the matter is going to be under consideration,” Ramaphosa said. “And already, a number of countries or nations have been making approaches to the other member countries, and we’ve given them the same answer – to say it’ll be discussed by the BRICS partners themselves, five of them, and thereafter a decision will be made.”

Credit: RT News