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Countries choose BRICS to strengthen sovereignty, move away from dollar — senior diplomat

Mikhail Bogdanov stressed that BRICS was not a Western association, but at the same time it was not anti-Western

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. BRICS member countries are choosing this association in order to strengthen their sovereignty and move away from the dollar imposed by the West, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister and Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov said.

Bogdanov stressed that BRICS is not a Western association, but at the same time it is not anti-Western.

"We are choosing this path in order to strengthen the sovereignty of our countries, to move away from the dollar, which was imposed on us and is used by the West, especially the US, as a method of pressure, including political and economic pressure," he said.

"This association has very great potential and it is no coincidence that more and more countries want to join our joint work," Bogdanov added.

The 16th BRICS Summit, which became the key event of the Russian presidency of the association, was held in Kazan on October 22-24. On the second day of the summit its participants adopted the Kazan Declaration. The main topics of the document include the development of the association, its position on global problems, the settlement of regional crises, including in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The BRICS group was created in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, while South Africa joined in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia joined the association. The Kazan Summit was the first in which they participated as full members.