Dear colleagues,
Friends,
We are pleased to welcome you to the first BRICS sherpa/su-sherpa meeting this year, which is taking place within the framework of a large number of events planned by the Russian presidency. You are familiar with the plan. The year has started, we need to work. We meet in real winter. But I am sure that you could feel the Russian cordiality and hospitality. Welcome!
If we talk about the agenda that is relevant for our association today, then these are all issues related to the observed objective processes. We see a profound transformation of international relations, which reflects the formation of a more democratic, just, multipolar world order, reflecting the cultural and civilizational diversity of the modern world and the right of each nation to manage its own destiny.
This process is historically objective. New powerful centers of economic growth, financial and political influence are emerging. It is developing not just because the “collective West”, led by the United States, is doing its best to maintain its dominance (or what remains of it), which they have enjoyed for 500 years in the history of mankind. At the heart of this dominance were colonial wars, the exploitation of other peoples, and much more. This can be described as the privileged position of the “golden minority”. He is a “billion”, but a “minority”. The West is trying to maintain this position and impose recognition of its “privileges” on everyone else – as we say now, the World majority.
This is done by promoting their own “rules” on which the world order should be based (this is already a byword). It implies the adoption of decisions by the West and the need for others to fulfill them in forms convenient for them at the moment. This applies to financial, technological, ideological spheres and international politics.
You are well familiar with the sign of “multilateralism”. The slogan is “inclusivity” too. With them, Western politicians are trying to disguise unilateral steps that do not contribute to a long-term, fair solution to the accumulating problems, be it world politics, security, or the economy. It is already obvious to everyone that the dollar is either an active or a potential “weapon” for solving political problems. Dollar grants from international financial institutions are actively used as instruments of coercion. Unilateral sanctions undermine well-established convenient and efficient supply chains, as well as the development prospects of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Instead of broad humanitarian cooperation, a “culture of cancellation” is being instilled.
The line of the “Western minority”, which includes betting on force and pressure on dissenters, provokes serious crises in international relations, multiplies the number of conflicts. Unhealthy trends are observed not only in the Euro-Atlantic, but also in the Asia-Pacific region, where Washington and NATO are trying to bring the logic of block confrontation.
Long-term attempts by the United States to monopolize mediation efforts in the Middle East settlement have led to a sharp escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and to a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. More than 25,000 civilians have already been killed there and three times as many injured. Tel Aviv’s refusal to comply with the decision of the UN Security Council on the creation of a Palestinian state is ignored. This is a direct challenge to the numerous decisions of the Council and the General Assembly of the world Organization. It is the creation of a viable Palestinian State that exists side by side in good neighborliness and security with Israel and other countries in the region that is the key to the long-term stabilization of the Middle East and to the eradication of extremism and terrorism there. In the current situation, there is a real danger of destabilizing a much larger area in this important region of the world.
We fully feel the politics of the West for ourselves. Everyone knows about the hybrid war they unleashed against Russia. The United States and its allies are imposing the notorious “V.A. Zelensky formula” on the international community. I know that the countries of the Global South, including those present here, are actively invited to participate in relevant events. They are trying to present this “formula” as the only settlement option. But it is obvious to everyone that this option represents nothing more than an ultimatum to the Russian Federation. It is impossible and does no credit to those who try to present themselves as foreign policy figures and effective “managers”.
Recently, a regular meeting of the “Copenhagen format” on the “V.A. Zelensky formula” was held in Davos, where some of your countries were represented. After that, I had conversations with colleagues from a number of friendly states, including about the role assigned to the Global South at these “meetings”. There is only one goal – to assert that there is no alternative to the “formula of peace”.
I recalled that the Chinese friends had their own document, which differs in that it puts the need to eliminate the causes of the current situation in Europe at the forefront. That’s the main thing. He said that his South African colleagues also had an initiative, which was discussed in July 2023 in St. Petersburg on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit. We have adopted a document on cooperation to address the humanitarian aspects of the crisis. Brazilian President L.Lula discussed his proposals with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
I asked those who participated in the meeting on the “formula of peace” in Davos how much attention is paid to the initiatives of the World majority. I was told that no attention is being paid. They don’t need initiatives. You don’t need anything from them at all. Just come and sit so that they can be counted arithmetically, and then present a new record figure to the world. All this will be recorded in the asset of the “formula of peace” by V.A.Zelensky.
This is a complete disrespect and disregard for any opinion other than your own. This is “pure water” colonialism, imperialism – whatever you want to call it. We have been through all these historical phases of human development. There is no doubt that this whole “Copenhagen process” is nothing more than a continuation of the well–known line of the West, which has declared its task to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia and at this price maintain its global dominance, and then move on to the next announced “stage” of world politics – containing China as the main challenge for the world minorities.
What is happening in Ukraine is a tragedy. The West “does not care” about the lives of Ukrainians. This is a “side effect”, as they say in the American army. The violation of all human rights and freedoms and national minorities by the criminal Kiev regime is completely ignored. For Russians and Russian speakers, these rights are prohibited by law. At the moment, these are the results of the activities of Western “geopolitical engineers”.
Washington and its European satellites are spending huge amounts of money to contain Russia. This is in stark contrast to the approach of Western capitals towards the Global South, primarily African countries. Kiev is receiving all new fabulous sums in an accelerated manner. Aid to the Kiev regime has already exceeded $200 billion in less than two years. While humanitarian supplies to developing countries, technology transfers to them are measured in much smaller numbers and are subject to numerous requirements. In some cases, Ukraine is supported by funds “saved” during the suspension of projects in Africa and the Middle East. We are well aware of this.
Nevertheless, we know that it will not be possible to reverse the course of history. Before our eyes, the positions of the World majority – the states of Eurasia, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean – continue to strengthen. Most of these countries are increasingly asserting their national interests and identity and striving for genuine strategic independence – not in isolation, but in cooperation with the same free, independent and respecting international law States. In other words, national interests are at the forefront, not the whims of former metropolises.
Our strategic partners, including the BRICS countries, are pursuing a pragmatic, independent foreign policy course. Thus, they differ from the policy of the West, which imposes exclusively development models that suit it. The natural desire of the new world centers to actively participate in making globally significant decisions is supported by the growing economic potential of all the States represented here. It is no coincidence that not only political, but also trade and investment activity is shifting from the Euro-Atlantic to Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. Especially in conditions when the West is destroying all the tools of globalization, the regionalization of world markets is taking place, production and logistics chains are being rebuilt in order not to depend on Western tools. The positions of other currencies are strengthening in comparison with the dollar, euro and other Western currencies.
Today, in principle, no serious issue can be effectively resolved unilaterally by any power, no matter how large and self-confident it is, especially at the expense of infringing on the interests of other countries. The collective approach professed by the BRICS countries and a huge number of their supporters is not an option, not a whim, but a dictate of the times. That is why we have chosen the motto of the Russian BRICS presidency “Strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security.” We see BRICS as a bulwark, a prototype of a multipolar world, the formation of which we are all trying to promote in the name of a brighter and more harmonious future for our peoples.
BRICS is an organizing principle at the global level for the Global South and East, but not on a block basis (I want to emphasize this), but on the principles of mutual respect, sovereign choice of the path of development and ensuring in practice the key principle The UN Charter – the sovereign equality of states.
If you pay attention, since the creation of the United Nations, all its subsequent activities are a vivid example of the fact that in no crisis situation, in no conflict, neither the United States nor its allies have ever respected the principle of sovereign equality of states. They always wanted to be more equal than others.
Joining the association of new members (Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia), whom I once again wholeheartedly welcome, strengthens the strategic partnership and the international position of the association. You know how many countries are interested and have officially announced this in establishing partnerships with BRICS. We will pay great attention to this during our presidency.
The statistics speak for themselves. The total GDP of the BRICS countries in terms of purchasing power parity has already amounted to about a third of the corresponding global values and exceeded the indicators of the Group of Seven. BRICS accounts for 30% of the earth’s landmass, 45% of the world’s population, significant volumes of global oil and other resources production, and about a quarter of world exports of goods. Having such a rich potential, we cannot afford to be an outsider, to follow in the wake of historical processes, especially given the hopes that the countries of the Global South and East place on BRICS. The Association is quite capable of shaping the global agenda, consistently defending the interests of the World majority, offering its vision of the contours of the future world order, based on objective events, and not on artificially arranged schemes designed to slow down the development of mankind.
At the same time, we all agree that this kind of activity, initiative does not mean trying to impose something on someone. We are always open to an equal dialogue aimed at finding a balance of interests. An example of such a dialogue and its effectiveness was shown to us by the G20 summit in 2023 in New Delhi, where most of the countries present here were represented. In the end, it was possible to adopt a document that is balanced in nature. Especially in the geopolitical part, it reflects the objective state of world politics. The West has failed to impose its unilateral vision of the foreign policy problems of the modern world by silencing crises that have long been inflated by itself, and which, after American and British adventures, cannot be “extinguished”. We have a fully capable association that knows what it is trying to achieve and is able to achieve these goals (I emphasize once again) without imposing any approaches on anyone.
For many years now, within the framework of BRICS, we have been carrying out fruitful cooperation between countries representing various civilizations, religions and macroregions in a wide variety of fields – from politics and security to economics and humanitarian contacts. Integration processes at the regional level are rapidly developing in the world today. We see this in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Eurasia. Interesting projects with the participation of the SCO and the EAEU are being formed there, ASEAN, including in the context of cooperation with the Chinese One Belt, One Road project. All these sub-regional and regional processes will accelerate even more, become more saturated in conditions when the global instruments that the West has actively and for a long time promoted and convinced everyone that they are universal, that the dollar is not some kind of asset of the United States, but it is worldwide. And everyone can freely use the dollar and other tools and principles of the free market, globalization, such as the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence and much more, for their own benefit and benefit, in the interests of their development.
It turned out that all these “holy principles” of the free market can be cut off overnight and turned into a tool of coercion for those who do not like Washington today. Any country can expect such a fate. The regionalization of the world’s economic development and logistical processes is a natural reflection not only of life in the relevant parts of the globe. These processes will also accelerate due to the fact that Washington and those who control the current monetary, financial, trade and global system have proven their incompetence and unreliability. This is a healthy process that frees the countries of the Global South and East from the risks of manipulation by former colonial Powers.
As for our association, it is a manifestation of the same trends, but at the global level. The BRICS represents something like a cooperative “grid” for regional and subregional processes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The cooperative “grid” will promote harmonization and the development of integration in the countries of the World majority at the global level. These topics were discussed at the level of our presidents and prime ministers. I would like to emphasize once again that all this is in no way intended to create a mechanism for a new dictate of the World majority. Not at all. In all our actions and statements, in declarations and in practice, all our countries always emphasize that we are open at any moment for an honest, equal dialogue. But it is honest (we have not seen such approaches from many Western leaders for a long time) and equal. This is also a rare quality that is clearly in short supply on the side of the global minority. We will continue to work on the basis of our action plan, which you have seen.
We will pay special attention to ensuring the smooth entry of our new comrades, new BRICS members into daily activities. We will continue to consider as a priority the development of cooperation with countries (there are about 30 of them) that have expressed interest in getting closer to the association and participating in our practical projects. I am referring to the outreach/BRICS Plus formats and the agreement of the leaders at last year’s summit to form a new category of partner countries. In this sense, the Sherpa has a very big responsibility. The main work in terms of volume and substance, in terms of achieving common positions, you do exactly at your level. I am very grateful to you for this.
Russia, as Chairman, will do everything this year to make your work comfortable and will strive to help find solutions to issues where strengthening common consensus and approaches is required.
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Before concluding my speech, smoothly moving on from the topic of the special role of sherpas, I would like to carry out an important mission on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin and present the Order of Friendship to the Ambassador-at-Large for Asia and BRICS Affairs of the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, the Sherpa of South Africa in BRICS A.Suklalu.
We know him as a principled and skilful diplomat who is firmly and sincerely convinced of the need for collective development and common prosperity of all mankind. He firmly follows the holy principles of BRICS – openness, equality and consensus. A.Suklal was at the origin of many important BRICS initiatives, including the launch of meetings of the “five” with leaders of like-minded countries in the “outreach” format, the creation of a New Development Bank, the BRICS Center for Research and Development of Vaccines.
I won’t tell you a secret if I say that A.Suklal is a great friend of all the countries represented here. He has visited Russia many times and knows our national traditions in all their guises. Events in the BRICS format during the years of our presidency in the association also contributed to this to a large extent. He is truly a “veteran”, but with a young enthusiasm and energy, which, I am sure, will benefit many of our endeavors. We appreciate his attitude and contribution to strengthening the strategic partnership between South Africa and Russia.
