The BRICS summit, scheduled to take place virtually this week, will bolster the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his counterparts from Brazil, China, India and South Africa. The meeting will be used in Moscow to “prove” to the public that the Kremlin is not isolated in the world. But it will also serve as a platform for criticism against the sanctions imposed by European countries, the United States, and Western allies against the Russian economy.
Jair Bolsonaro, Indian Narendra Modi and South African Cyril Ramaphosa will also attend the meeting, chaired by Chinese Xi Jinping.
Within Itamaraty, the concern now refers to Bolsonaro’s intervention. Negotiators believe that because it is a virtual event and there is little opportunity for spontaneous interventions, the risk of the Brazilian president making a diplomatic mistake is lower.
But everyone remembers how the vague statements Bolsonaro made during his visit to the Russian President in February caused friction with some of Brazil’s main trading partners, such as the United States and Europe.
Diplomatic sources said in the column that one of the points that should be included in the final declaration is the questioning of the financial, trade and economic sanctions imposed on Moscow since the beginning of the Russian troops’ invasion of Ukraine.
Also, reference will likely be made to the global crisis in fertilizer and food supply, which is considered a key point for Brazil.
The criticism came days after the European Union described Moscow’s decision to stop supplies of tons of grain held in Ukrainian warehouses to the poorest countries as a “war crime”. However, the problem for Russia is not its military presence in the region, but the sanctions imposed. The version is disputed by Europeans.
Still, the final declaration will be softer than Beijing would like. The Chinese, who were the heads of the group by the end of the year, requested a document showing their support for the Russian government, which was rejected by Brazil, India and South Africa. The three countries abstained in most of the votes regarding the resolutions taken against Russia in international organizations.
But everyone in the bloc knows that countries will oppose any diplomatic effort by the West to remove Russia from the specialized agencies of the multilateral system, such as the WHO, UNESCO, ILO and others.
Diplomats consulted by the columnist point out that holding a summit with his presence and without boycotting other countries in the bloc is already a political victory for Putin.
The incident comes days after China announced in April that Russian oil purchases rose 50% from 2021 values. However, Moscow overtook Saudi Arabia to become China’s largest oil supplier.
source: Noticias
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