2 On August 3, South African Sherpa Anil Suklal said in BRICS.
«He (Putin) will not be present in person, but will speak remotely on August 23,» Suklal said on the air of the SABC TV channel.
According to Suklal, Putin himself decided not to come to the summit in South Africa. and the Russian Federation will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
According to the South African edition of City Press, more than 30 countries have applied to participate in the BRICS summit in South Africa, which is expected to be the largest of all previous ones.
BRICS brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. A number of other countries intend to join the economic bloc, including Argentina, Iran, and also, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt.