MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov took part in a meeting of the BRICS Sherpas and Sous Sherpas (Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa) and discussed with his colleagues preparations for the organization's summit and the meeting of the five foreign ministers, as well as the situation in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
"The participants discussed preparations for the summit of the association, which is scheduled for this summer, as well as the upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of the P5 states," the ministry said.
In addition, there was an exchange of views on the situation in and around Ukraine. "The BRICS countries outlined their national approaches to the current crisis. Ryabkov briefed his colleagues on our respective assessments," the ministry added.
For his part, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, China's BRICS Sherpa, stressed "the P5’s commitment to multilateralism, compliance with the UN Charter while respecting the legitimate security interests of each UN member state." "Support was expressed for the dialogue and negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine in order to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Ukrainian issue. Attention was paid to the humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine, the facilitation of humanitarian aid efforts, including the contribution of the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN agencies," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Concern was also expressed about the consequences of unilateral sanctions on the global economy. "It was stressed that such measures deal a blow to efforts to implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The BRICS countries called for serious attention to the concerns of developing countries, guarantees of the well-being of the population of all nations," the ministry stressed.