BRICS leaders held an extraordinary online summit

Vladimir Putin at an extraordinary BRICS summit. Brazilian President Lula da Silva is on the screen.
Photo: Kremlin.ru

The leaders of the BRICS countries discussed the US tariff policy and the situation in Ukraine during an extraordinary online summit of the association. Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the meeting via video link from Sochi.

Vladimir Putin took part in an extraordinary BRICS meeting, held via videoconference at the initiative of Brazil, which currently holds the organization’s rotating chair, Kremlin informs. The agenda of the meeting included cooperation between BRICS member states in trade and economy, finance, investment, and other areas, in view of the current situation in the global economy.

The event was convened at the initiative of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss President Donald Trump’s trade policy, including the introduction of tariffs, RIA Novosti informs.

There was no joint statement released after the summit.

"A threat to our institutions"

The Brazilian leader noted that the tariffs being introduced are aimed against the BRICS economies.

"The introduction of extraterritorial measures threatens our institutions, secondary sanctions limit our freedom to strengthen trade between friendly countries, "divide and rule" is a new strategy of unilateral action and BRICS must show that cooperation is above everything else," Lula da Silva said.

He also touched upon the situation in Ukraine and called for a realistic settlement of the conflict, which should take into account the legitimate interests of all parties. Chinese President Xi Jinping fully concurred.

"A serious blow to the global economy"

The Chinese leader called on BRICS to use its strengths and deepen business cooperation. He added that the association should defend openness, and safeguard the international economic and trade order.

"Some countries continuously unleash trade and tariff wars, which seriously harm the global economy and undermine the rules of international trade," he said.

Xi Jinping voiced his firm confidence that the association will withstand the test of international turbulence and continue to develop sustainably and in the long term. He noted that the closer the cooperation of the BRICS countries, the more confidently they will respond to external challenges.

"Direct negative impact"

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi underscored the fact that BRICS promotes cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect. According to him, the importance of the association as a prominent international forum is growing.

At the same time, al-Sisi called out the inefficiency of the UN Security Council.

"There was a direct negative impact on the UN system, especially the Security Council. The decline in public trust in it has prompted a number of countries to demand a comprehensive reform of the Council," the president said.

The Egyptian leader added that the UN Security Council had proven incapable of fulfilling its role in resolving disputes.

"Seismic shifts"

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a transition from a Unipolar world to a Multipolar one. He also recalled that the BRICS countries were at the forefront of advocating for reforms of multilateral institutions.

"South Africa reaffirms its support for the reform initiative being spearheaded at the WTO. BRICS countries must champion the reforms that are taking place at the WTO,” the president added.

He also mentioned the seismic shifts that have occurred in international trade, which create both challenges and opportunities for restructuring the global economy. Cyril Ramaphosa supported the BRICS initiatives that increase the resilience of the economies of the participating countries.

Summit Results

As the press-service of the President of Brazil noted after the summit, the leaders of the association's member states were unanimous about the need to move to a more equitable international order.

"The meeting also became an opportunity to exchange views on how to counter the risks posed by an uptick in the use of unilateral measures, including in international trade, and how to expand mechanisms of solidarity, coordination and trade among the BRICS countries," the document states.

The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and strengthening multilateralism and reforming international institutions.

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