BRICS, Ramaphosa does not invite Macron to the summit in South Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa did not invite Emmanuel Macron to the summit of heads of state and government of the BRICS group at the end of August, despite his request from the French president. The August summit, scheduled for Johannesburg, will be the largest meeting of heads of state and government in the southern hemisphere in recent years. Macron was not invited to the BRICS summit in South Africa, the local News24 portal reported. "Seventy invitations have already been sent to the leaders of the Global South... However, Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and France have not been invited. Despite requesting an invitation, French President Emmanuel Macron has not received it," the article states.

In June, Opinion reported that Macron had asked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to let him attend the BRICS summit. This request surprised the South African leader, notes the article. South Africa did not say whether it was ready to allow other international leaders to attend, the source said. In turn, a Ramaphosa spokesman told RIA Novosti that he knew nothing of Macron's appeal. The South African president's office said on Wednesday that the BRICS summit, to be held in Johannesburg from August 22-24, would be attended by the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa. Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin had decided to attend the BRICS summit via video conference.The BRICS include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have also expressed a desire to join the economic bloc. South Africa took over the BRICS presidency from China earlier this year and will hold it until the end of 2023, after which it will be handed over to the next state