Combating terror to be focus of BRICS meet
NEWDELHI: Issues such as the situation in Kashmir and Xinjiang are not expected to figure at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit beginning in Brasilia on Wednesday though the grouping will reiterate its commitment to fighting all forms of terrorism, a top Russian diplomat said on Tuesday.
The BRICS grouping does not take up issues such as Kashmir, Ukraine and Xinjiang on which there is no consensus and focus will be on measures to promote a just and equal multi-polar world order, the deputy chief of the Russian mission in New Delhi Roman Babushkin told reporters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi left New Delhi on Tuesday to participate in the two-day summit in the Brazilian capital. He will also hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Valdimir Putin, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the summit on Wednesday.
The BRICS Summit is expected to reiterate the grouping’s commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms on the basis of a common approach, Babushkin said. BRICS had set up a joint working group on counter-terrorism in 2016 and there were several sub-groups looking at ways to counter issues such as terror financing, he said.
Without naming the US, Babushkin said: “The five countries will give new impetus to efforts to overcome uncertainty and turbulence in a world with growing conflict potential as certain countries withdraw from basic agreements aimed at ensuring strategic stability.”
As part of efforts to contain terror, Russia is focused on combating the Islamic State in Afghanistan while working on various tracks to ensure peace, stability and democracy in the war-torn country, he said. There were also indications that the Taliban could be part of any new power structure that emerges in Kabul and this is why Russia had engaged in negotiations with the group, he said.
Explaining Russia’s concerns about the IS, Babushkin said his country feared the terrorist group could expand its reach from Afghanistan to Central Asia and then to Russian soil. “The Taliban are limited to Afghanistan’s borders while the IS is not limited by borders. That is why we are promoting a collective solution in Afghanistan,” he added.
Babushkin also said 2020 would be marked by several highlevel exchanges of visits between India and Russia for bilateral and multilateral events.
Modi is expected to visit Moscow on May 9 next year to participate in the Victory Day celebrations commemorating Nazi Germany’s surrender in 1945. He is also expected to attend summits of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, both of which will be chaired by Russia in 2020, in St Petersburg in July next year. President Putin is expected to visit India for an annual summit and the two countries will also observe the 10th anniversary of their special and privileged strategic partnership and the 20th anniversary of their strategic partnership.