BRICS bank NDB says not considering new projects in Russia

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The New Development Bank (NDB), the multilateral bank set up by the BRICS states, is not considering new projects in Russia as it operates in line with restrictions imposed in financial and capital markets, its head said on Wednesday.

Dilma Rousseff said in a statement posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that any speculations concerning the discussion of new operations of the bank in Russia were "unfounded".

Rousseff, who is also a former president of Brazil, said she will have a bilateral meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin later in the day on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, but its purpose would be discussing "the role of the NDB in the upcoming BRICS Summit."

BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are scheduled to gather in the African country next month. Putin will not attend.

Rousseff added she will also meet South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Russia, where she expects to discuss the expansion of the bank, which in recent years admitted the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Egypt as members.

The BRICS group of emerging countries launched the Shanghai-headquartered bank in 2015. Rousseff was appointed to head it earlier this year by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan)