Russian Minister Joins Developing Economies Meeting on Saudi Arabia and Iran's Inclusion.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with top diplomats from the BRICS bloc of developing economies to discuss the group's possible expansion to include Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. The meeting in Cape Town was a precursor to the main BRICS summit in Johannesburg and comes less than two weeks after the G-7 summit in Japan. With Russia and China's participation, BRICS is increasingly viewed as an emerging counterpoint to the West, and an expansion of the bloc could strengthen Russian and Chinese political and economic influence.