Russian foreign minister briefs BRICS counterparts on situation in Ukraine

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday briefed his counterparts from India, Russia, South Africa and Brazil on the overall situation in Ukraine.

The foreign ministers of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) countries held a virtual meeting during which the Ukraine issue was discussed.

“In his remarks, Sergey Lavrov presented in detail fundamental assessments of the development of the situation in Ukraine and the special military operation,” the Russian embassy in India said in a statement.

Russia has been describing its war on Ukraine as a “special military operation”.

The embassy said Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the event with a welcoming address and that he noted the relevance of efforts of BRICS countries to support “genuine multilateralism”.

“During the meeting, substantive exchange of views was held on topical issues on the international agenda. The ministers discussed problems of strengthening collective principles in global affairs, regional conflicts, combatting new challenges and threats as well as the interaction of the five states on multilateral platforms,” the Russian embassy said.

“Close attention was paid to the current state and prospects of the five-sided cooperation,” it added.

It said the meeting also included a separate session within the BRICS Plus format with the participation of the foreign ministers of Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand and the UAE.

“They had engaged in discussions on the state and prospects of the development of the global governance system with an emphasis on cooperation within the UN, the WTO and the G20. The main session resulted in the endorsement of a joint statement,” the embassy said.

The BRICS brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing 41 per cent of the global population, 24 per cent of the global GDP and 16 per cent of the global trade. The meeting was hosted by China.