In a Sept. 1 meeting with students and faculty of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked about how inviting the United Arab Emirates to join the BRICS would affect the organization and bilateral relations. He responded that “This will be a very positive influence, both in our bilateral ties and relations between the U.A.E. and other members of the BRICS family,” according a report in TASS. “The reason for this successful cooperation is that both the United Arab Emirates and the Russian Federation proceed from their national interests and would not tolerate any pressure which would make them sacrifice their national interests and the interests of developing their economies, their peoples,” Lavrov remarked.