Russia’s Ambassador to Mexico: Will It Be War or the BRICS Process?

In an opinion column published on July 31 by the national newspaper chain El Sol de Mexico, Russia’s Ambassador to Mexico, Edward Malayan, counterposed BRICS-style cooperation among nations to the chaos and dangers otherwise overwhelming the world.

If you look at what is going on around us, you do not see summer’s relaxation and rest, Ambassador Malayan wrote. Noting that surprises, as we know, “often abound in August,” he reviewed the international panorama: The agreement reached between Greece and the European Union “left everyone with a sour taste and a sensation that nothing has been resolved”; armed confrontations in the Middle East threaten international stability; ISIS is getting stronger; and real national dialogue has not begun in Ukraine, and the Minsk accord is not being implemented.

Two great events, however, offer the world a healthy and stabilizing effect. The BRICS summit at Ufa, where its members agreed to strengthen their international role, “reflects an essential necessity of establishing solid cooperation among different cultures and civilizations as a basis to create a polycentric international system,” he wrote. This matches the demands of the 21st Century, “when the core of joint work must be equality of rights and the culture of consensus…[In the BRICS]…no one imposes anything on the others, any result being the result of a common denominator of the national interests of the countries which make up this group of five.”

The P5+1 agreement on Iran is another reflection of how constructive cooperation among nations can bring success, he wrote, noting in particular the importance of Russia-U.S. dialogue in reaching this agreement on behalf of world stability.

Malayan adds “one more point:” President Obama, in a speech in Prague on April 5, 2009, said that it would not be necessary to develop the anti-ballistic missile shield, should an Iran deal be reached. “We hope that Washington remembers this and makes corrections as regards its plans. Russia would be ready for the dialogue on this matter.”