'Expanding economic opportunities': Ahead of SCO summit Putin backs Brics; slams 'discriminatory' sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said that Moscow and Beijing are “united in strengthening” the Brics grouping, positioning it as a counterweight to what he called “discriminatory sanctions” hampering the economic progress of many nations.

Speaking to China’s Xinhua News Agency ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, Putin stressed that Russia and China were working together to expand Brics’ role as a “key pillar of global architecture”.“We are working closely with China within BRICS to expand its role as a key pillar of global architecture. Together, we advance initiatives aimed at expanding economic opportunities for member states, including the creation of common platforms for partnership in strategic sectors,” he said.

He added that BRICS partners stood together in opposing sanctions that “hinder the socioeconomic development of our members and the world at large”.The Russian leader underlined his support for reforms to global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, arguing that the existing system is skewed in favour of the West. “Alongside our Chinese partners, we support the reform of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

We are united in the view that a new financial system must be based on openness and true equity, providing equal and non-discriminatory access to its tools for all countries,” Putin said.

He warned against the use of finance as an “instrument of neo-colonialism” and urged a system that better reflects the “real standing” of emerging economies.Putin further praised the role of China within the G20 and pointed to what he described as a joint effort with other BRICS nations to shift the group’s agenda towards the interests of the Global South. “Within the G20, together with like-minded nations, and especially BRICS members, we have redirected the agenda towards issues of real importance to the Global Majority, strengthened the format by including the African Union, and deepened the synergies between the G20 and BRICS,” he remarked.Putin is in China for the 25th SCO summit from August 31 to September 1, where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.