MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. The West is persistent in its attempts to harm, weaken and obstruct the further development of BRICS, but the association has become a real force on the global stage, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, Russia’s BRICS sherpa, said in an interview published on the PIR Center website.
"Our opponents’ attention to BRICS is understandable. The grouping has transformed into a real force to be reckoned with," Ryabkov stated. "It has become an integral component of the new, changing world order. But Western vis-a-vis are accustomed to thinking within their own paradigm - the logic of bloc thinking, which boils down to the formula: ‘Whoever is not with us is against us.’"
According to him, this mindset "has not only become ingrained; it has become an absolutely inescapable part of the mentality of politicians and policy-making circles in the West." "Hence the suspicion, hence the desire to find ways to weaken BRICS and hinder its further development. Everyone understands this," the deputy foreign minister said.
"Those who are moving closer to BRICS see the persistence with which Westerners are trying to undermine it. Nevertheless, the desire for cooperation in this format remains strong," the senior diplomat continued. "Self-respecting countries, politicians who prioritize their national interests over pleasing some guy in some capital, are making a conscious choice in favor of rapprochement."
