The war in Ukraine materialized as a direct result of the West’s desire to maintain its hegemony in the world, and Russia will continue to seek an end to the conflict launched by Western powers, Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed.
Addressing fellow leaders of the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa on Wednesday, the Russian leader discussed a wide range of issues affecting the geo-political landscape, including how the grouping of key economies could cement itself as an “authoritative structure” in world affairs and collaborate to deal with urgent global issues.
“Acting in a coordinated manner, on the principles of equality, partnership, support, and respect for each other’s interests, we deal with the most urgent issues on the global and regional agenda,” Putin told the summit in Johannesburg by video link.
“We are against any kind of hegemony that some countries promote because of their exclusivity and (how they) based on this postulate a new policy – the policy of continuing neo-colonialism,” he said, adding that the desire of “some countries to maintain their hegemony in the world has led to a severe crisis in Ukraine.”
Putin accused Western nations of helping to carry out an “unconstitutional coup” in the wartorn country and launching a war “against those people who did not agree with this coup.”
He reiterated previously made claims that Moscow has engaged in a defensive move against a hostile Ukrainian government, amid antagonism from the United States, Europe and NATO. This narrative is fiercely disputed by the Western world, which considers Russia to have launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine based on illegitimate territorial claims.
“Russia has decided to support people who are fighting for their culture, for their traditions, for their language, for their future. Our actions in Ukraine are dictated by only one thing – putting an end to the war that the West and its satellites have launched in Ukraine against the people living in Donbas,” he told the summit.
Putin is the only BRICS leader not to attend the summit in South Africa this year due to an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. As a signatory to the judicial treaty that created the court, South Africa would have been obligated to arrest the Russian president upon stepping foot in the country, and as such requested that he refrain from attending.
