BRICS prepared to defend its interests in dialogue with US

On September 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in an extraordinary BRICS summit arranged online at Brazil's initiative. The country has fallen victim to US tariff policies for reasons unrelated to trade or economic relations. Brazilian President Lula da Silva is sure the punitive measures were imposed on his nation in response to a lawsuit against his predecessor. The theme put forward by the Brazilianside was "Threats to a multipolar world order and theassociation's collective response to US tariffs andsanctions."

The Russian leader's address was not open to the media; the venue took place behind closed doors and lasted some 1.5 hours.

The Kremlin reported that during the meeting, "participants discussed issues of cooperation between the BRICS member states in the trade-and-economic, financial, investment, and other areas in the context of the current situation in the global economy."

The BRICS association "reaffirmed its commitment to preserving and strengthening multilateralism, as well as to reforming international institutions," according to the Brazilian leader’s press service.

South Africa Sees BRICS as a leader of the global economy and a reformer of the international system, stated President Cyril Ramaphosa. The nations within the association must boost their leadership in world economy, he added.

Strengthening cooperation among the BRICS member states will help them more easily manage external challenges and risks, Chinese President Xi Jinpingstated. According to him, the nations engaged must uphold multilateralism to protect international fairness and the rule of law.

The BRICS group could set an example for promoting sustainable trade by analyzing and resolving the issue of trade imbalances among its member states, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar noted.

Anton Grishanov, a leading research fellow at the Institute for Topical International Problems at the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy, commented on the event, noting that, "undoubtedly, one can say that yesterday's videoconference of BRICS leaders has been a certain political challenge for Trump. The American president is chary about BRICS and the events surrounding it. Therefore, of course, he will perceive this as a sign of further consolidation among the association's members in response to his harsh steps in tariff policy and statements he has made."

According to the expert, "BRICS as an association is oriented toward preventing international conflicts and resolving them diplomatically. However, if individual BRICS members come under pressure, then the blocitself may face pressure from Washington. Therefore, like any other responsible international structure, even one that is not formally institutionalized, BRICS is obliged to respond and take preventive measures, among others, to avert damage to its member states. This is entirely normal."