President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro made the remarks in an interview broadcast on the Venezolana de Television TV channel.

“As far as BRICS is concerned, I hope that the way will be cleared and that the reality will be recognized – Venezuela is part of BRICS,” Maduro said.

In response to a question about Brazil’s veto of Venezuela’s accession to BRICS at the association’s summit in Kazan, the president noted that “it is necessary to turn the page and look to the future”.

Maduro said that the hero of Venezuela’s national liberation struggle against Spanish colonial rule, Simon Bolivar, “dreamed of BRICS 200 years ago”. The president recalled that the country’s former leader, Hugo Chavez, “saw Venezuela’s path to BRICS and included this provision in the government’s program”.

MP/