Kremlin says BRICS not directed 'against' third countries, after Trump tariff threat

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00:00Russia says the BRICS has never worked to undermine other countries.

00:04The clarification from Moscow comes after the U.S. President Donald Trump

00:08threatened to impose a 10% tariff on states aligning themselves with anti-American policies.

00:13The sentiment was also reiterated by China and South Africa,

00:17which said the grouping was not seeking confrontation.

00:21BRICS leaders are currently meeting in Brazil.

00:30We have indeed seen such statements by President Trump.

00:36But it is very important to note here that the uniqueness of groups like BRICS

00:40is that it is a group of countries that share common approaches

00:44and a common worldview on how to cooperate based on their own interests.

00:49And this cooperation within BRICS has never been

00:52and never will be directed against any third countries.

01:00Now, for more on this story, we can go across to correspondent Yan Onosko,

01:05standing by in Rio.

01:07Yan, multiple clarifications coming out from BRICS leaders

01:12of what exactly the grouping stands for.

01:17Absolutely.

01:18It certainly feels like the BRICS bloc is suffering an identity crisis.

01:23Now, when it was set up back in 2009 by the four major emerging economies in the world,

01:30that is Brazil, Russia, India and China,

01:32it had the explicit aim of creating a more multipolar world.

01:37So that in itself could potentially be interpreted as being anti-American.

01:42And it really did want to establish itself as a counterweight to the G7 group

01:47of the world's biggest economies.

01:49Now, one of the problems that the BRICS group has had

01:54is the fact that it has expanded so rapidly

01:57and now includes 11 countries,

01:59all very different in terms of their economies,

02:02their styles of government and their interests.

02:05So that really makes it difficult for them to make any progress.

02:10Even though it's a larger group,

02:11it now accounts for almost half the world's population

02:14and almost 40% of the world's GDP.

02:18It is seen as being a bit rudderless, almost leaderless.

02:23And that has been exacerbated by the fact that the Chinese leader,

02:26Xi Jinping, has decided to skip the summit

02:29for the first time since he became China's leader.

02:32And he only gave the reason that he had a conflict in his agenda.

02:38Now, given that Xi Jinping is not at the summit

02:43and they're all coming out, these leaders,

02:46and clarifying what exactly the grouping stands for,

02:48what's come out of this meeting in Brazil so far?

02:51Well, the summit is still ongoing,

02:57but they have already issued their final joint statement.

03:01And if we look at that statement,

03:03it's called the Global South Stands Together,

03:06sorry, the Global South,

03:08Strengthening Global South Cooperation, rather,

03:10for more inclusive and sustainable governance.

03:13The language within it is very muted.

03:16It's very weak.

03:16So, for example, when we look at some of the geopolitical issues

03:20it addresses, like the attacks on Iran,

03:22Iran being a member of the BRICS bloc,

03:25it condemns those attacks,

03:26but without mentioning either Israel or the US.

03:29With Gaza, it's a bit more forthright.

03:31It calls for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops

03:35and a ceasefire on the Palestinian territory.

03:38And even when it comes to tariffs,

03:40an issue which all the members agree on,

03:44it talks about its concern over the rise in tariffs

03:47and non-tariff trade barriers,

03:50but without specifically mentioning either Trump or the US.

03:54Obviously, Trump got that message

03:55because he's now threatening to put an extra 10% tariff

04:00on those countries that align with anti-American policies, let's say.

04:06So, if the BRICS summit here has achieved anything,

04:09perhaps it is to exacerbate this trade war with the US.

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