Russia invites Saudi crown prince to October BRICS summit

Russia has invited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to attend a BRICS summit in the city of Kazan from Oct. 22-24, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

The bloc of developing nations last year invited Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates to become members, in a move aimed at accelerating its push to reshuffle a world order it sees as outdated.

Lavrov is on an official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters in January that Riyadh was still considering the invitation to join BRICS.

One of them said there were strong benefits to joining the bloc, named after members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as China and India are Saudi Arabia's biggest trading partners.

A Saudi official source told Reuters in February that the kingdom had not yet responded to the invitation to join and that it was still under consideration.

Riyadh is weighing its options against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and China as well as Russia. The kingdom's warming ties with Beijing have caused concern in Washington, its longtime ally, with which ties have sometimes been strained in recent years.

Saudi Arabia cooperates closely with Russia on oil policy through OPEC+.

Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS in January. Argentina decided not to join. President Javier Milei, who took office last December, has chosen instead to deepen ties with the United States.