Open this photo in gallery: President of China Xi Jinping (1st row L) and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (1st row R) attend a meeting during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on August 24, 2023.MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images The BRICS bloc of countries has agreed to add six new members in a major expansion drive that strengthens the hand of China and Russia in their battle against the power of Western sanctions. The six new countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates – will bolster the economic and political…