OREANDA-NEWS  Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov handed over a letter to Russian Ambassador to the republic Boris Gryzlov about Minsk's readiness to officially become a BRICS partner. This is reported by BelTA.

"An official response to a written invitation is a mandatory element of the procedure agreed upon by the Member States for obtaining partner status. It is from this moment that the country is officially considered a BRICS partner," the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said.