President Jair Bolsonaro, without referring to the war in Ukraine and not mentioning the Russian occupation, said at a BRICS event this Wednesday that the country is concerned about the “international context” and its impact on trade flows, supply and investment.

The Brazilian, on the other hand, continued his diplomatic juggling and refrained from criticizing Western countries, which were the target of questioning and attack by China and Russia. The talk took place at the Brics Business Forum via pre-recorded video. The event is in preparation for the group’s summit scheduled for Thursday.

For the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be with the other leaders of the bloc, even if the event is virtual. For diplomats, even the Kremlin chief’s presence at an international event is seen as a strong political message that he is not isolated.

During the preparatory event, the Russian has already made it clear that in the face of sanctions imposed by the Americans and Europeans, his country is diverting its trade and investment relations to countries in the bloc of emerging economies.

Xi and Putin criticize the West and propose more alliances between developing countries

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a peace-seeking effort as host. But as the UOL expected on Tuesday, there was no agreement between the bloc’s five countries to issue a statement of support for Putin.

Xi still sent messages to the Western powers. “History shows that hegemony, political groups and bloc conflict bring neither peace nor stability, but war and conflict,” he said.

The Chinese, declared allies of Putin, openly criticized the Western powers. “The Ukraine crisis has raised the alarm for humanity,” he said. “Countries will certainly face security problems if they blindly believe in their strong position and expand military alliances and seek their security at the expense of others,” the Chinese said, referring to NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe.

In his speech, Putin also directed his criticism to the West. “While more and more politically motivated sanctions are being introduced, the mechanisms of pressure on competitors are further strengthened,” he warned.

“There is deliberate destruction of cooperative ties, transport and logistics chains being destroyed. And all this goes against common sense and basic economic logic, undermines global commercial interests, negatively affects the well-being of people, in fact, all countries,” he said, adding that this is due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. without mentioning the reaction of Europeans and Americans against it.

But Putin insists the result is a scenario where “the problems in the world economy are repeated”.

“We’re seeing economic slowdown, rising unemployment, shortages of raw materials and ingredients. Global food security problems are worsening, prices of grains and other essential agricultural commodities are inflating,” he said. Anything refers to the blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russian forces.

Putin announces his economy is being reoriented with BRICS and even talks about currency

For Putin, given the scenario, the emerging bloc needs to unite. “We are actively interested in directing our trade flows and foreign economic relations to reliable international partners, particularly the BRICS countries,” he said.

“Despite all the problems and challenges, it is important for the BRICS business community to continually strengthen mutually beneficial ties in the fields of trade, finance and investment,” he said.

According to him, in the first three months of this year, trade between Russia and the BRICS countries increased by 38 percent to $45 billion.

Putin also used his speech to indicate that his economy is being redirected. Contacts between Russian business circles and the business world of BRICS countries have intensified,” he said.

According to him, negotiations are underway to open Indian chain stores in Russia and to increase the share of Chinese automobiles, equipment and hardware in our market. “In contrast, Russia’s presence in the BRICS countries is increasing. There has been a remarkable increase in Russia’s oil exports to China and India,” he said.

He also talked about the situation with Brazil. “Agricultural cooperation is developing dynamically. Russia exports a significant amount of fertilizer to the BRICS countries. Russian IT companies are expanding their activities in India and South Africa, and our satellites allow TV broadcasts to about 40 million residents in Brazil,” he said.

Putin also drew attention to how new alternative mechanisms have been created in the face of financial sanctions, along with those that have emerged. “We are exploring the possibility of creating an international reserve currency based on the BRICS basket of currencies,” he said.

According to him, the Russian business community, in coordination with the business circles of developing countries, is taking steps to develop new logistics routes and new production chains.

“We are ready to openly work in good faith with all partners on the basis of the principles of mutual respect for each other’s interests, the rule of international law and equality for all nations and peoples,” he said.

In general, I would like to note that Russia has taken comprehensive measures to reduce the negative effects of sanctions and strengthen our trade and investment relations with all relevant countries. Our macroeconomic policy is proving to be effective in practice. We managed to preserve the Russian financial system and began to stabilize the situation in the sector by providing targeted social support to citizens.

Bolsonaro: ‘context’ concerns

Bolsonaro, on the other hand, chose to avoid political themes and find himself in his economic message. “The current international context is of concern due to risks to trade and investment flows and the stability of energy and food supply chains,” he said.

By using these terms, Brazil avoided criticizing Russia for the war and has not yet opened a front to the Americans and Europeans who were preparing the sanctions.

“Brazil’s response to these challenges is not to close itself off from the rest of the world. On the contrary. We have sought to deepen our economic integration,” he said. For him, it’s a “pleasure” to share the same spirit of collaboration with the rest of the blog.

Bolsonaro also focused his speech on the positive aspects of rapprochement between businessmen from BRICS countries, insisting that his aim is to “improve Brazil’s participation in international trade and investment flows”.

He also used the engagement to sell his economic agenda, noting that he is taking steps to make the regulatory framework safer and more transparent. Bolsonaro also touched on measures of economic freedom and pension reform. “One of the government’s goals is to increase the participation of the private sector in the economy, to encourage investment in infrastructure,” he said.

Bolsonaro also highlighted Banco do Brics as a tool to “contribute to the growth of our economies” and bet that the opening of the institution’s office in Brazil would allow it to expand its operations in the country.

Bolsonaro explained to businessmen that Brazil wants to consolidate itself as a “safe and stable pole for investments”, adding that “the OECD entry process will be another step in that direction”. According to him, Brazil wants to participate constructively in determining the direction of the global economy.