CHELYABINSK, Aug 25 BRICS, unlike from the European Union and NATO, is built on the principles of mutual respect and equal benefit, on horizontal ties, and it is more difficult to maintain them, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the RT TV channel and Rossiya Segodnya MIA, said in the talk show Svoya Pravda on NTV.
«Who is in charge in BRICS? Russia? No, of course. India? No. No one is in charge in BRICS. We are trying to build a different world order based on other, horizontal ties. It is more difficult to maintain horizontal ties … But try to establish horizontal ties with people you do not obey and are not obliged to obey, and all your relationships are built solely on mutual respect, mutual equal benefit and can end at any moment, because we have nothing to blackmail each other with and no one owes anything to anyone, «she said.
According to her, this is a different level of relations both among people and in international politics. “BRICS is not a person, but an organization, sorry for the tautology, a higher spiritual organization, because it is built on horizontal, and therefore more respectful principles,” she said.
Simonyan noted that if India becomes a member of the G7, Argentina will accept the dollar, «we will not yell at them and we will not make statements,» and no one will. «BRICS is built on horizontal ties. And each of its members, if it is convenient for him to sit on two chairs, can sit on two if it is in the national interests of this state, and we all treat this with respect. Start treating other countries with respect, and then maybe the G7 will become the G11, but not yet,” she said.
In her opinion, the world order in the West is arranged on one vertical connection.
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«This is always the connection of a subordinate with a commander. It's always a stick and a stick. They just don't understand…when ties can be horizontal,” Simonyan said.
The next BRICS summit was held in Johannesburg on August 22-24 under the chairmanship of South Africa. During the summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the official invitation of Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to join the BRICS. He said that the full membership of the new countries that join the BRICS will begin on January 1, 2024.
At the moment, BRICS unites Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but recently 23 states, including six that have already received an invitation, have expressed their desire to join the economic bloc.
August 21, 10:00 BRICS infographic: participants, history and weight in the global economyView