Sergei Ryabkov, deputy foreign minister of Russia, said the situation around Iran “is the most urgent and most important issue” on the political agenda of BRICS and that a significant part of the upcoming summit of the leaders of this group is expected to be devoted to it.

In an interview with TASS, ahead of the BRICS leaders’ meeting in New Delhi, Ryabkov said the situation in Iran is complex because among the BRICS member countries there are those that hold a “sharply critical” position regarding Tehran’s recent actions. He did not name these countries.

The deputy foreign minister of Russia added that the situation in the Persian Gulf is the most urgent political issue for BRICS members and that discussing it in leaders’ talks and drafting the final document of the summit could take a long time.

Ryabkov said that under the current circumstances he cannot predict the outcome of negotiations on this issue.

BRICS has 11 core members, including Russia, China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran, and a number of countries also cooperate with the group as partners.