Ramaphosa demonstrated outstanding diplomatic skills - Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin had lauded Cyril Ramaphosa for his "outstanding diplomatic skills" during the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.
Putin, who couldn't attend the summit physically due to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him, delivered his remarks through a video link.
Putin used his Thursday speech to commend President Ramaphosa for hosting a successful summit.
"I must point out that this was quite a challenging task, as it turns out, and President Ramaphosa has demonstrated outstanding diplomatic agility and skill in coordinating all the positions, including those dealing with the BRICS expansion," he said.
Putin, who will be taking over as the chair of BRICS next year, also congratulated the new countries joining the group.
"I would like to congratulate the countries joining BRICS which will be able to fully contribute to its work effective next year.
"I want to assure all of my colleagues that we will continue the initiative we started today, to expand the influence of BRICS in the world, by establishing practical cooperation with new members and with the parties collaborating with us in the outreach format, as well as with our partners who assign importance to cooperation with BRICS and would like to work with us."
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