The increased interest in BRICS cooperation, destructive US protectionism and work on a comprehensive treaty between Russia and Iran became the main topics at the press conference of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following the meeting of BRICS Foreign Ministers in Nizhny Novgorod.
TASS has collected the key statements of the minister.
Working with BRICS
Interest in cooperation with BRICS is growing : "The number of states that are interested in joining our work is steadily growing and has already approached three dozen."
Such a request cannot go unanswered, and all BRICS colleagues understand this: "And we will continue to work in this direction. We will prepare appropriate recommendations for the unification summit, which will be held in Kazan on October 22-24."
The futility of Western hegemony
Most of the delegations at the meeting of foreign ministers of the BRICS member countries stressed "the destructive nature of the selfish trade protectionism policy pursued by the United States and its allies." More and more participants "advocated the need to reform existing global governance systems with an emphasis on enhancing the role of the countries of the global South."
The West is not going to build bridges for cooperation with Russia and China: "They use bricks only to <...> build walls, and also try to hit those who do not obey them on the head."
At the same time, Russia is not shutting itself off from anyone, unlike the West, which does not realize that "its efforts to maintain hegemony through blackmail, illegal sanctions, ultimatums and even military force are doomed to failure."
About the situation around Ukraine
The West allocates "hundreds of billions of dollars and euros to the Kiev regime to continue the war" against the Russian Federation. Against this background, there is an "extremely small amount of funding" allocated for sustainable development.
It is necessary to move away from unilateral initiatives on Ukraine and "promote a settlement not by convening internecine meetings, which will open in Switzerland one of these days, where a completely empty and worthless, dead-end formula for Zelensky's peace has been declared as the basis for discussion without alternative." At the same time, in order to negotiate a settlement of the conflict, "it is necessary to return the Ukrainian regime to the legal field."
On the work on a comprehensive treaty between Russia and Iran
The text of the agreement has been fully agreed, but Tehran has to perform several procedural actions for the presidents to sign: "These actions have not yet been completed. That's all, actually."
At a meeting with the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Bagheri Kani, Russia reaffirmed its commitment to this document, "which is designed to bring relations between Russia and Iran to a qualitatively new level."
About Israel's operation in Gaza
Russia proceeds from the need for an immediate cessation of the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip and a two-State solution to the Palestinian problem. The Israeli methods used during the hostage rescue operation in Nuseirat are unacceptable: "I think it is unacceptable when hundreds and hundreds of other people who are innocent are sacrificed to save innocent people."
