JOHANNESBURG /South Africa/, July 25. /TASS/. BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, have a chance to play a key role in forming the agenda of global development, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev said on Tuesday.
"I am convinced that our association (BRICS - TASS) can play a leading role in the process of creating inclusive multilateralism and set the agenda for global development," he said at a meeting of high security representatives from the BRICS nations.
He stressed that the association is a key platform for equal dialogue and the collective search for solutions to global security problems. Russia, in his words, attaches great significance to security cooperation within BRICS.
"Unlike the US-led NATO, BRICS can have a major stabilizing role in international relations," he said, adding that the association is a striking example of how to carry out efficient work on pressing global problems on the basis of the principles of openness, equality, mutual respect and the lack of a hidden agenda.
According to Patrushev, BRICS nations recognize the supremacy of international law and the United Nations’ coordinating role. They reject interference into the domestic affairs of independent states and are ready to defend their national interests while taking into account the sovereign decisions of other players.
He noted that "the crisis in the world order is associated not only with risks but also with opportunities." Thus, in his words, more and more countries are demonstrating the revival of national self-consciousness, rejecting the neo-liberal model which is being imposed on them from outside, the authoritarian, hegemonic system of world relations, and are choosing an independent policy based on their own development and constructive cooperation.
"This is seen in their reluctance to join unilateral sanctions and their adherence to an independent foreign policy," he stressed.