On April 19, 2024, the Primakov Center hosted an open lecture “At the Crossroads: Brazil in the face of BRICS expansion”, which was a bright conclusion to the “V Week of Russian Diplomacy”.
The students were addressed by Professor of Political Science at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alerge, Brazil), coordinator of scientific research at the BRICS Political Center (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), member of the Valdai Club Fabiano Melnichuk.
In his report, Fabiano Melnichuk stressed that if the original idea on which BRICS was based was the idea of mutual respect among the participants, then at the moment BRICS is experiencing some disagreements within the organization.
“They need to be a little more sensitive to the decisions of the member states of the organization,” the researcher notes.
In a changing world, Brazil is striving to expand its influence, but faces some challenges.
“Brazilian diplomacy is good by world standards, but still requires some changes.”
In this context, Fabiano Melnichuk believes that BRICS may not be very interesting for Brazil at the moment. Fabiano Melnichuk emphasizes that at the beginning of the formation and work of the BRICS, Russia and Brazil were the most important actors in the work of this system. And at the moment, Brazil is acting as a kind of mediator between Russia, China and Western countries.
“Brazil is trying in every possible way to maintain relations with Russia and China in order to promote its interests,”
At the end of the lecture, the speaker was pleased to answer questions and share his opinion with the students about Brazil’s current position in the world.
Photo: Daria Yurlova
Zaitsev Alexander (Photo Club “Illuminator” named after V.A. Kakovkin)
