Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the BRICS nations — have expressed concern about the "serious impacts" of "unilateral sanctions" against Russia on the post-COVID global economic recovery, a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The five countries have also raised apprehensions about the impacts of the sanctions on the “stability” of industrial and supply chains, energy, and food security, the statement added.
It also underlined that “great importance” must be accorded to the concerns of developing countries to make sure that their people’s livelihoods aren’t affected because of the economic sanctions.
Further, the delegates also expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine and called for expediting humanitarian assistance efforts in the region.
The statement sought to outline the nature of discussions which took place at the "Second BRICS Sherpas" meeting of 2022, attended by the coordinators of BRICS countries and chaired by China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu.
At the virtual meeting, Russia was represented by its current G-20 Sherpa and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. From India’s side, the virtual meeting was attended by Dammu Ravi, the secretary (economic relations) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Ambassador Sarquis J.B. Sarquis, the secretary of foreign trade and economic affairs at Brazil’s Ministry of External Relations, and Ambassador Anil Sooklal, a deputy director general at South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), led their respective delegations at the online meeting.
The five delegations also stated at the meeting that they were “highly concerned” about the current situation in Ukraine, as they backed a “continued dialogue” between Moscow and Kiev to seek a “comprehensive solution” to the conflict.
“The BRICS countries expressed their support for multilateralism, adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and respect for the legitimate security concerns of all countries…” read the statement.
The joint statement comes against the backdrop of BRICS states flagging individual concerns about the disruptive impact of the Ukrainian crisis on their respective economies.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said in parliament last month that the impact of the Ukraine conflict on energy and commodity prices was “already visible”.
“The disruption of the global supply chain is expected to be significant”, he added.
During a virtual call with US President Joe Biden this week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the effects of the security crisis on the “global food supply”.
Both Russia and Ukraine rank among the leading wheat exports in the world.
Meanwhile, the World Bank this week lowered its growth forecast for India for the current financial year from 8.7 percent to 8 percent.
In its assessment, the World Bank blamed the “supply bottlenecks” and inflationary pressure due to the Ukraine crisis for its revised forecast.
On part of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi this month told a state-backed media outlet that one must remain “vigilant” against the “adverse spillover effects” of the Ukraine crisis.
Wang warned in the interview that countries must avoid “unilateral sanctions”, as they could lead to “food shortages” and “undermine economic development”.
The US, the European Union, and other Western partners such as Canada, Australia, and Japan have imposed sweeping economic sanctions against Moscow over Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Top Russian banks have also been excluded from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network, a financial intermediary that helps execute international transactions.
However, Moscow’s energy supplies have been exempted from these sanctions, which is due to heavy reliance of EU nations on Russian crude, coal, and natural gas.
The BRICS nations have basically refused to comply with the unilateral sanctions.