On the eve of his trip to China to participate in the “Belt and Road” Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to China Media Group (CMG), a partner of TV BRICS.

The conversation touched upon the BRICS expansion, the possibilities of this international cooperation mechanism and its growing potential and attractiveness for other states.

The Head of State spoke about what historical process of BRICS enlargement is a manifestation of, and noted what role Russia will play in BRICS and during its presidency.

The President mentioned that this expansion process is based on objective reality.

“The multipolar world is being created by itself, by fact. We can speed up this process, we can try to slow it down, <…> but its creation is inevitable. It is happening on its own, and it is happening because of the growing potential of many countries, including, not in the least, the growing potential of the People’s Republic of China. <…> And this growth is evident, including in the economic sphere”

Vladimir Putin President of Russia

As for the BRICS, at the time of the Johannesburg summit, the ratio of the G7 and BRICS economies was already in favour of the latter group in terms of purchasing power parity, added Putin.

The Russian leader stressed that after the addition of six more members to BRICS, the ratio became even more in favour of the “five” nations.

“This is a manifestation of the objective process of forming a multipolar world. It means that everyone who joined BRICS supports the idea and the concept of forming a multipolar world,” added Putin.

The head of state said that no one wants to be on the sidelines, everyone wants equal relations, and the BRICS format will allow the members of the bloc to achieve this goal by joining efforts.

The politician also said that the “Belt and Road” initiative (BRICS) has demonstrated China’s desire to intensify mutually beneficial cooperation.

He praised the results of the “Belt and Road” initiative over the past decade since its implementation, as reported by the official website of the Russian President.

Recall, the third forum of international cooperation “Belt and Road” will be held on 17-18 October in Beijing. The event is timed to the 10th anniversary of the initiative of the same name. Many states have already confirmed their participation in it.

Photo: screenshot from the interview of the Russian President with the China Media Group