Greece to Escape West’s Chokehold by Joining BRICS Bank - European Lawmaker

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova — Greece could climb out of the debt hole created for it by International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank if it accepts Russia's proposal to join the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), Sofia Sakorafa, a member of the European Parliament from the Greek ruling Syriza party, told Sputnik on Monday.

"[Greek] attempts to escape from the deadly embrace of the IMF and the World Bank have been made in the past. [The invitation to join] the bank of BRICS makes this effort the most advanced one to break the monopoly of terror."

Five major developing economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — signed an agreement to establish the NDB at a summit in Fortaleza, Brazil in July 2014. The bank is expected to become an alternative to Western-dominated financial institutions and will focus mainly on funding infrastructure projects.

She stressed, that in order to make this attempt successful, the NDB must stick to its commitment to economic development instead of trying to strangle the Greek people as their Western creditors are currently doing.

"The participation of Greece, therefore, in the new development bank of BRICS, with the objective to finance development projects, is an interesting alternative option that should be evaluated with great seriousness by the Greek government," the Greek Member of the European Parliament stressed.

Earlier, a source in the Greek government told Sputnik that Prime Minister Tsipras would have an opportunity to discuss Athens' accession to the bank with the leaders of the BRICS group in St. Petersburg during an economic forum to be held there on June 18-20.