Chinese President Xi Jinping was supposed to give a speech at the Brics Summit. But things are different. Putin also spoke up. News tickers.
- peace talks: President of Brazil Lula da Silva calling for war in Ukraine
- brick as a stage: Wladimir Putin blame the West Ukrainian war
- New member: Brazil, RussiaIndia, China and South Africa wants to break the dominance of the West
Update from August 23, 17:30: China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping has expressed his support for the rapid expansion of the Brics group in important developing countries. The process of adding more states to the “Brics family” must accelerate, said the Chinese head of state and party. The Brics community will continue to grow and contribute to peace and development in the world. International standards should be written and enforced by all countries based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, “rather than being dictated to by those with the most power and voice,” said Xi Jinping.
Lula da Silva speaks at the Brics summit on ending the Ukraine war
Update from August 23, 15:15: At the Brics summit, Brazilian President Lula da Silva once again called for a speedy end to the war in Ukraine. This conflict has global implications that cannot be ignored, said Lula. “We are positive that more and more countries, including the Brics, are in direct contact with Moscow and Kiev,” Lula said on the second day of the summit in South Africa’s economic hub, Johannesburg. “We must not underestimate the difficulty of achieving peace, but we also cannot be indifferent to the death and destruction that occurs every day,” added Lula.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also advocated a negotiated settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Brics countries will support efforts to end this conflict through dialogue, mediation and negotiation,” said the 70-year-old. Ramaphosa leads the African peace initiative to end the war. However, recent mediation efforts through initiatives in Moscow and Kiev have yielded no results.
Putin’s speech at the Brics summit: The West is to blame for the Ukraine war
Update from August 23, 14:03: Vladimir Putin did not attend this year’s summit of Brics nations in person due to his war on Ukraine and the arrest warrants associated with it – he intends to organize the next summit himself. In his speech, Putin invited representatives of other member states Brazil, India, China and South Africa to the Russian city of Kazan in October 2024. The specific date should be discussed through diplomatic channels. The President of Russia announced that there will be more than 200 political, economic and social events under the presidency of the Russian Brics in the coming year.
Update from August 23, 12:50: Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a video message at the Brics summit in South Africa that Russia wants to end the conflict in Ukraine. He repeated accusations that the war was instigated by the West and its satellite countries. Therefore, Russia was forced to invade Ukraine.
Brics summit in South Africa: Confusion over Xi’s speech – Minister of Commerce steps in
Update from August 23, 12:05: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s absence caused a stir at the Brics Five Developing Countries Summit in South Africa. According to the official program, China’s heads of state and party leaders are supposed to speak at the Brics Economic Forum on Tuesday. Instead, China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao stepped forward and delivered the President’s speech.
Later, at a banquet of heads of state and government, Xi attended. Xi Jinping was again seen at the summit on Wednesday morning. He entered the conference center early on the second day of the meeting.
There was no explanation from Beijing why Xi Jinping was not present at the economic forum. Wang Wenbin, spokesman for Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, insisted that the Chinese president deliver a speech at the daily press briefing on Wednesday. The speaker then reproduces the contents.
Another Beijing Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, quoted Xi Jinping’s speech on Twitter. Chinese state media initially gave the impression that the President had spoken personally.
Brics Summit in Johannesburg: The Group looks to greatly expand its alliance
First report: Johannesburg – The summit of the five major Brics developing countries in South Africa on August 23 will focus on expanding the group. The group, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, aims to weaken the West’s geopolitical and economic dominance.
President of China Xi Jinping, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from Brazil, Cyril Ramaphosa from South Africa, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have arrived at the Johannesburg business hub for the meeting. Only Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been threatened with arrest in South Africa because of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, will take part in the three-day meeting, which ends on Thursday, by video. All five heads of state will give short speeches – another video message from Putin is also on the program.
New members: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa want to break the dominance of the West
Heads of state are expected to comment on the criteria for admitting new members. There may also be an indication of when other countries will be included to take “Brics plus” out of the group of five with many new arrivals. In this way, the Brics, as the center of power in the Global South, wants to counterbalance forums of other strong economies such as the G7. According to their own statements, the five Brics countries already account for 42 percent of the world’s population and about a quarter of global economic output.
According to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, some 40 countries have expressed a more or less binding interest in Brics membership, 23 of which are real, including Argentina, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt, IranKuwait, Venezuela and Bangladesh.
Brics as stage: Vladimir Putin is isolated internationally due to the Ukraine war
For Putin, who is isolated internationally due to the war in Ukraine, Brics is the ideal place to show that his country still has allies. According to this logic, “Brics plus” also means something for Russia: the more, the better. Moreover, Moscow advocates a multipolar world order without US supremacy.
China also wants “Brics plus” as a stage against them United States of America use and prefer to place themselves at the center of the world order. South Africa described “changing the global order” as the aim of the summit. Western industrial powers are increasingly ignoring the concerns of Southern countries, Pandor said earlier.
Global South: Lula emphasizes the importance of the Brics
Brazilian President Lula stressed that the Brics were not aimed at anyone, but rather better organization of the countries of the South. “We want to organize ourselves as the Global South. We play an important role in global debates and sit at the negotiating table on an equal footing with the European Union and the United States.” The Brics countries are included in the group of 20 large industrialized and developing countries (G20). (with DPA)
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