In a wide-ranging press conference in Rio de Janeiro July 7, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov touched on key aspects of the discussions, decision-making and consensus reached during the just-concluded BRICS summit. In an apt reply to the “analysis” offered July 8 by the British Crown’s Chatham House (see separate slug), Lavrov emphasized that like-minded BRICS partners agreed that it’s impossible to address many contemporary issues “without heeding the positions of the Global South and East countries or the Global Majority.” As President Vladimir Putin said in his video address to the plenary session, the old dying system “primarily catered to the interests of the Golden Billion.’” Now, it’s the principles promoted by BRICS that are being prioritized “as a foundation of a truly multilateral, equitable and mutually beneficial cooperation between all countries.”
Thus, the coinciding positions on key international issues expressed in the plenary session led to the commitment to creating a more equitable, stable and polycentric world order, based on the principles of the UN Charter. Contrast this to the approach of our “Western colleagues,” Lavrov suggested. When undertaking another venture on the international stage, they “randomly choose provisions that suit them best at the moment and use them to justify their actions.” But the application of the principles of the Charter is what is called for, just as they were written by the UN’s founders.
