MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. The BRICS group’s expansion is based on reality, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with China Media Group.
"What is at the core of the expansion process? This process is based on objective reality. The multipolar world is creating itself, as a matter of fact. We can speed up this process or someone can try to slow it down and maybe even achieve some kind of reduction in the pace of building a multipolar world. Anyway, its creation is inevitable," he noted, when asked what historical process the BRICS expansion reflected.
According to Putin, the creation of a multipolar world was rooted in "the growing potential of many countries, including, not least, the growing potential of the People’s Republic of China." "India is growing in Asia, Indonesia is also growing, many other nations in Latin America like Brazil, and Russia is getting back on its feet and gaining strength. Our countries do have their problems, and what countries don’t? There are always problems of some kind. But it’s not about that, it’s about growing our potential, and this growth is evident, including in the economic sphere," the Russian head of state said.
When speaking about the BRICS group’s expansion, he noted that it was "challenging." However, "largely due to the efforts of our Chairperson, the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa <...>, we managed to come to this consensus and to reach an agreement."