Russia is hopeful that BRICS member countries will be able to resolve differences between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and reach an agreement on the joint declaration at the upcoming summit in India, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
The BRICS summit is scheduled to take place on September 12 and 13. Leaders are expected to discuss cooperation in politics and security, the economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian issues.
The summit comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the UAE over the conflict in West Asia. The two countries have taken different positions on the conflict, and their disagreements have complicated preparatory discussions for the summit.
BRICS Sherpas are currently meeting in New Delhi to finalise the wording of the leaders’ declaration. According to people familiar with the discussions, differences remain over how the document should refer to the situation in West Asia.
Peskov said Moscow was hopeful that the member countries would find language that respected the interests of both Iran and the UAE. He added that Russia was ready to help the two countries improve their bilateral relations.
He said Russia supported security and mutual trust in the region and opposed aggressive actions. Peskov acknowledged that the Iran-UAE differences were making negotiations over the summit documents more difficult, but expressed confidence that diplomats from Russia and India would find acceptable wording.
The issue has been a challenge for BRICS before. A meeting of the group’s foreign ministers in May ended without a joint statement after differences between Iran and the UAE became apparent. India subsequently issued a chair’s statement and an outcome document containing two paragraphs on which there was no consensus.
Peskov also highlighted several areas where Russia sees scope for greater BRICS cooperation, including counterterrorism, combating drug trafficking, cybersecurity, space, food security, technology and artificial intelligence, healthcare, energy, transportation and connectivity, and reform of international institutions such as the United Nations.
He said Russia now conducts about 90% of its transactions with BRICS countries in national currencies. Peskov argued that this was driven by practical considerations rather than a direct attempt to eliminate the US dollar.
Russia also rejected the idea that BRICS is an anti-Western grouping. Peskov said the bloc was focused on cooperation among its members and was not directed against any third party.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other BRICS leaders are expected to attend the summit in India. Leaders from partner countries, including Belarus, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Uzbekistan, are also expected at the outreach session.
BRICS now has 11 members and represents nearly half of the world’s population, around 40% of global GDP and about 26% of global trade.
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