BRICS condemn sanctions against Russia
July 16, 2014, 8:10 am

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, President of China Xi Jinping and President of South Africa Jacob Zuma at the 6th BRICS Summit in Brazil on 15 July 2014 [PPIO]

“We condemn unilateral military interventions and economic sanctions in violation of international law and universally recognized norms of international relations. Bearing this in mind, we emphasize the unique importance of the indivisible nature of security, and that no State should strengthen its security at the expense of the security of others,” said the joint declaration at the end of the BRICS leaders plenary meet in Fortaleza on Tuesday.

The United States is considering imposing unilateral sanctions on Russia, even as Obama vowed to target Russia’s lucrative energy and defense sectors, as well as access to financial markets, says a new AP report.

Meanwhile,the BRICS called for “a comprehensive dialogue, the de-escalation of the conflict and restraint from all the actors involved, with a view to finding a peaceful political solution, in full compliance with the UN Charter” in Ukraine.

Before the Summit, Alexei Pushkov, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, had said BRICS “do not follow the American policy of isolation”.

“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 said.

The BRICS disapproval of the Western model of imposing sanctions would offer support to a beleaguered Moscow.

“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. It would also indicate how the West no longer has a monopoly on setting the international agenda,” writes columnist and Russia expert Mark Adomanis.

Meanwhile, in the light of the ongoing violence in the Gaza strip, the five BRICS nations reiterated their support for “a contiguous and economically viable Palestinian State existing side by side in peace with Israel, within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders based on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.

“We oppose the continuous construction and expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories by the Israeli Government, which violates international law, gravely undermines peace efforts and threatens the viability of the two-State solution,” said the BRICS Fortaleza declaration.

The group of five also expressed deep concern at the rising violence in Central African Republic, South Sudan, Iraq and also the crises in Syria and Afghanistan.

BRICS also welcomed the introduction by China and Russia of the updated draft Treaty on the need to prevent weaponization of outer space. The US and Israel have repeatedly voted against UN resolutions on the prevention of an arms race in outer space.

The Fortaleza Declaration also said the group will explore “Russia’s proposal of a BRICS agreement on cooperation” in cyber-security.

Helmo Preuss in Fortaleza, Brazil for The BRICS Post