Xi Jinping and Putin Discuss BRICS Cooperation With Brazil’s President – During their phone conversations, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva discussed their collaborative efforts within the BRICS group ahead of the upcoming leaders’ summit. Lula, known for his outspoken advocacy, expressed his support for moving away from the U.S. dollar and adopting national currencies, as well as considering the possibility of establishing a common currency within the BRICS framework.
Furthermore, President Putin and President Lula delved into various topics during their discussion, including the ongoing Ukraine conflict and the importance of enhancing cooperation within the BRICS alliance. In a tweet Friday, Lula wrote (translated from Portuguese by Google): “I just spoke by phone with the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. I thanked him for an invitation to attend the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, and replied that I could not go to Russia at the moment.”
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The Brazilian president added that concerning the war in Ukraine, he “reiterated Brazil’s willingness, along with India, Indonesia, and China, to talk to both sides of the conflict in pursuit of peace.” In a statement released by the Kremlin on Friday, it was reported that the Brazilian president conveyed his thoughts and experiences from his participation in the recent G7 summit held in Hiroshima, Japan.
Additionally, the two leaders engaged in a discussion where they shared their evaluations and viewpoints on the current situation concerning Ukraine. In addition, Putin and Lula discussed the Russian-Brazilian strategic partnership and expressed mutual interest in deepening cooperation in various fields, the Kremlin detailed, noting: “Issues related to joint work within the BRICS and other multilateral platforms were considered.”
“The conversation was constructive and informative,” the Kremlin concluded. Lula also tweeted that he had a conversation on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Brazilian leader wrote: “Yesterday I had a telephone conversation with the president of China, Xi Jinping. We talked about the global situation, the need for peace in Ukraine, and the participation of our countries in the BRICS summit in August. And about our strategic partnership at the bilateral level.”
The BRICS group has been pushing for de-dollarization and there is a proposal for a common BRICS currency which is expected to be discussed at the next leaders’ summit in August. Lula has voiced support for the creation of a BRICS currency. “I am in favor of creating, within the BRICS, a trading currency between our countries, just like the Europeans created the euro,” he said in April. In addition, he urged developing countries to abandon the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency.
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This week, Putin made a statement regarding Russia’s proactive engagement with prominent international associations and multilateral organizations across various regions of the world. He emphasized that Russia is actively collaborating with influential entities such as the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as well as multilateral organizations in Latin America and Africa.
