BEIJING (National Times) – An influential group of emerging economies said they backed talks between Moscow and Kyiv, at the end of a two-day summit held against the backdrop of Russia s war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Beijing has been hosting a virtual forum of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — which account for over 40 percent of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world s gross domestic product.<\/p>\n
Three members — China, India and South Africa — have abstained from voting on a UN resolution condemning Russia s invasion, and President Vladimir Putin has urged them to snub Western countries appalled by the attack on a European neighbour.<\/p>\n
The five countries said in a declaration issued late Thursday that they “support talks between Russia and Ukraine” but did not lay out a pathway towards ending the war.<\/p>\n
The countries said they had “discussed our concerns over the humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine” and expressed support for international agencies “to provide humanitarian assistance”.<\/p>\n
The United States and the European Union have slapped Russia with a barrage of sanctions since it invaded Ukraine on February 24.<\/p>\n
But China and India have attempted to stay above the fray, wary of damaging strong military and commercial links with Moscow.<\/p>\n
South Africa, one of the few African countries wielding diplomatic influence outside the continent, has also refused to condemn Russia to safeguard important economic ties.<\/p>\n
China and Russia have also touted a “no-limits” partnership with President Xi Jinping last week sending Putin a message of support on “sovereignty and security” issues.<\/p>\n
The Russian President on Thursday called on BRICS leaders to work together to offset “selfish actions” from the West and push for a “truly multipolar system of inter-government relations”.<\/p>\n
Xi said Wednesday on the eve of the forum that the “Ukraine crisis is… a wake-up call” and branded sanctions a “boomerang and a double-edged sword”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING (National Times) – An influential group of emerging economies said they backed talks between Moscow and Kyiv, at the end of a two-day summit held against the backdrop of Russia s war on Ukraine. Beijing has been hosting a virtual forum of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-showbiz","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n