MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated the West’s growing concern about the work of the BRICS countries to develop their independent financial mechanisms.

"This work - we know - is increasingly worrying the United States and its allies, who understand that if this work is successful, and we achieve this (develop independent financial mechanisms - TASS), it will seriously question the mechanisms of globalization that are currently functioning under the leadership of the West," Lavrov said at a meeting of the commission of the General Council of the United Russia party on international cooperation and support for compatriots abroad.

According to the minister, Russia is interested in increasing the role of the BRICS states in the international monetary, financial and trading systems, developing interbank cooperation, expanding the use of national currencies and creating its own exchange.

The Russian top diplomat noted that the West has begun to "shamelessly abuse" international mechanisms, using them to suppress competitors and punish dissenters.

Russia assumed the one-year rotating chairmanship of the 10-member BRICS intergovernmental group on January 1, 2024. On Moscow’s watch, BRICS will carry out over 200 events covering a wide range of issues. The key event of Russia’s chairmanship will be the BRICS summit in October 2024 in Kazan, Tatarstan, in Russia’s Volga region.