Russia: BRICS Doesn't Create New World Majority Dictatorship
JAKARTA - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said the BRICS economic bloc had no intention of creating a mechanism for "the world's majority of new dictatorships."
"In all our actions, statements, declarations and practices, all our countries always emphasize that we are open at any time to have an honest and equal dialogue," Lavrov said in a speech at a meeting of BRICS state officials in Moscow.
BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia.
According to Lavrov, the honest approach has not been seen from the leaders of Western countries for a long time. Equality is a " rare quality that is clearly not widely available," he added.
Lavrov further said the US, as well as parties "controlling the global monetary and financial system," have proven "its inability to negotiate and cannot be relied on."
"It turns out that all the sacred principles of the free market can be captured overnight and turned into an instrument of coercion for those who Washington doesn't like today. Fate like this can happen to any country," Lavrov said.
He continued by saying regional integration processes such as BRICS had increased under these conditions.
Lavrov also added the block was a "something like a network of cooperation" that would "prompt harmonization and development of integration in the majority countries in the world at the global level."
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Commenting on Russia's leadership in the bloc this year, Lavrov said Moscow would pay great attention to countries that have decided to forge partnerships with the organization.
"Accession of new members to BRICS strengthens our association's strategic partnership and international position," Lavrov said.
"BRICS is fully capable of forming a global agenda, consistently defending the interests of the majority of the world, offering its vision of future world order contours, based on objective events, objective developments," he said.
"... and not on artificially designed schemes to slow the development of mankind," he said.