BRICS averse to American policy of isolation: Russia
July 14, 2014, 7:33 am

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be holding discussions with his BRICS counterparts in a leaders’ Summit on 15th and 16th July in the Brazilian cities of Fortaleza and Brasilia [PPIO]

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be holding discussions with his BRICS counterparts in a leaders’ Summit on 15^th and 16^th July in the Brazilian cities of Fortaleza and Brasilia.

“When we are said in the West that there is a kind of world community, which condemns us, they mean 28 NATO member states and the EU. However, this is not the world, but the west, the Euro-Atlantic community. And it is, with all its weight, not all of the world community, but only part of it,” Pushkov was quoted by ITAR Tass agency.

The US has pushed European capitals, despite some resistance, to “punish” Russian President Putin for the accession of the Crimean peninsula.

In March, US President Obama said Washington was “examining a whole series of steps – economic, diplomatic – that will isolate Russia and will have a negative impact on Russia’s economy and status in the world”.

At the upcoming BRICS Summit in Brazil the leaders of the five leading emerging economies are expected to rally around Russia on the Ukrainian crisis.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin very clearly wants to emphasize to the West that he has other options, and the BRICS summit presents a perfect venue for doing just that,” writes columnist and Russia expert Mark Adomanis.

“It would also indicate how the West no longer has a monopoly on setting the international agenda,” he adds.

A joint BRICS statement earlier in March this year criticized Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s statements that Putin could be barred from attending the G20 Summit in November.

“The Ministers noted with concern, the recent media statement on the forthcoming G20 Summit to be held in Brisbane in November 2014.  The custodianship of the G20 belongs to all Member States equally and no one Member State can unilaterally determine its nature and character,” said a joint BRICS statement.

Moscow has earlier slammed attempts to drive a wedge between Russia and its allies on the Ukrainian crisis.

“Our contacts with Chinese partners prove that they not only recognize Russia’s legitimate interests in this situation, but also share with us a similar understanding of the roots of the Ukrainian crisis,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier in March.

Lavrov said if the reports of attempts by US officials to pressure China into reconsidering its economic agreements with Russia are true, the degree of their [Americans] naivety and ignorance could be described only as “going through the roof.”

TBP