MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will foster cooperation with other integration associations and consolidate positions in international organizations to present a united front, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in the article published in the South African magazine Ubuntu on occasion of the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg on July 25-27.
"We welcome the decision of the BRICS Chair to invite to Johannesburg other friends of the five countries from around the world representing authoritative integration associations. This is the practical implementation of the "BRICS plus" initiative approved by our leaders during the Xiamen Summit. Thus we expand the global reach of the Group and establish the outer circle of like-minded countries. In this regard, BRICS has good potential to become a unique platform for linking various integration processes in a flexible way," Lavrov said.
Lavrov stressed that Russia supports the coordination of the five BRICS countries within major international organizations as consolidation of efforts "is a key to ensuring world stability and a way to settle serious conflicts."
"Russia consistently advocates a greater coordination of the five BRICS countries within major international platforms, such as the UN, G20, WTO, IMF, World Bank, as well as other multilateral organizations and fora. When the States of the Group speak up in a strong and unified voice about the core issues of global politics and economy, this voice is heard by other States as well," he said.
Russia’s top diplomat also noted that BRICS-Africa Partnership launched during South Africa's 2013 BRICS Chairmanship is steadily developing. "During the Johannesburg Summit a special outreach session will be held with the participation of the heads of States presiding over regional organizations of the continent in order to focus on its most relevant issues."
According to Lavrov, BRICS attracts partners by its openness to constructive cooperation and "the impeccable respect for the United Nations Charter and basic principles of international law, including sovereign equality of States, commitment to the UN central role and indivisibility of security."
"We do not accept double standards, military interventions, unilateral coercive economic measures, protectionism and unfair competition. We stand in solidarity that the use of military force to solve international problems is unacceptable. We defend the foundations of an open, inclusive, equitable, transparent and mutually beneficial multilateral trade system with the WTO at its core," Lavrov said.