BRICS officials discuss tackling security threats amid escalating Ukraine crisis
A council on combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering will be created in BRICS, as decided at a meeting with high-ranking security officials representing the group’s states. According to Russia, the association already has good experience in responding to challenges in this area, including the fight against cybercrime and terrorism.
Experts agree that BRICS would be well-served to boost joint efforts in the security sphere. Doing so is particularly important amid the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis and the possible authorization by Washington and London to allow Kiev to attack Russian territory with high-precision Western weapons. Speaking to reporters in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin stressed that such a decision would mean NATO’s direct involvement in the conflict with Russia.
Officials from Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, as well as India, China, and Iran attended the meeting. The Russian President later held some one-on-one talks, in particular with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, National Security Advisor of India Ajit Kumar Doval, and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Akbar Ahmadian. The President expects to see the leaders of these countries in Kazan on October 22-24 for further bilateral talks.
While the BRICS security meeting was crucial, especially amid the deteriorating international situation, the association wants to make it clear that it does not see itself as an anti-Western alliance. Still, now it can be clearly seen that the BRICS countries are an important counterweight to the Western Groupings. The BRICS group prides itself on being about equality and sovereignty, which clearly rubs some Western countries the wrong way: therefore, BRICS challenges current perceptions of what global security means, as per a political scientist.
BRICS is capable of intensifying cooperation in the security sphere, especially against the backdrop of the West’s attempts to maintain its central position in the international arena, believ many experts.
“Although BRICS is not a military organization, its countries have a huge combined military potential. For example, the BRICS countries are developing mutually beneficial bilateral relations in the defence sphere. Now, when the United States is losing its dominance in the world, it is thanks to BRICS that a new world order can be established and a new security architecture can be formed based on the balance of power of the states that are part of this association,” said a Russian State Duma member.
Russia’s State Duma Deputy Natalia Poluyanova believes that the situation in Ukraine is serving as an impetus for a larger BRICS dialogue about security issues. “By declaring Russia’s rapprochement with Iran and China in the defence sphere, we are openly telling the West that we are building a very strong coalition,” he said.
