MINSK, August 25. /TASS/. The Western hegemony does not end now, but the BRICS expansion is a strong step in this direction, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters.

"I believe that the Western hegemony does not end yet. But this [BRICS expansion - TASS] is a strong step in this direction. Not only the media - high-level politicians got nervous as well," Lukashenko said, according to BelTA.

According to Lukashenko, "there are things to think about and things to analyze."

"It is a very strong step towards a multipolar world," Lukashenko said.

He noted that this is only a first step.

"If things go well, some units of account, some currency will appear. And this is what they [westerners] are afraid of the most, especially the Americans that dominate," the president said, adding that the Western hegemony will end then and there.

Lukashenko noted that he always believed that "steps must be more decisive."

"But, at the same time, I begin to think: due to different opinions, approaches, more radical steps may be impossible," he said.

"We must move in this direction. And it is a good thing that neither China nor India opposed this, although the Americans are courting them. They moved in this direction," the president noted. "It is almost half of the population. There is a reason why [Indian Prime Minister] Narendra Modi said that India will be the number one economy in terms of development rate. Yes, it will be so. It displays high rates this year already, it has already approached China."

In May, 2023, Belarus filed officially applied for accession to the BRICS.