Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s written interview with Brazilian newspaper O Globo with Focus on BRICS

I like this file photo MFA provided.

In marked contrast to the highly adversarial CBS interview, the Brazilian newspaper O Globo submitted a written set of questions for Lavrov to answer that are mostly focused on BRICS, although the final Q is about the SMO. IMO, it was refreshing to read about BRICS happenings instead of the continual circus surrounding the negotiations with Team Trump. Enjoy:

Question: Expanding trade among BRICS countries is one of the objectives for Brazil’s chairmanship in this group in 2025. What kind of opportunities does Russia see in terms of increasing the share of trade transactions in national currencies?

Sergey Lavrov: We are witnessing an accelerating trend in the fragmentation of the global economy. Against this backdrop, it is quite natural for the countries of the Global South and East to reduce the share of Western currencies in their mutual settlements. No one wants to suffer from sanctions, considering that the West has been imposing them on undesirable countries by exploiting its monopoly on financial markets. Using reserve currencies as a competitive tool is unacceptable. Payment transactions can be blocked for political reasons, even when dealing with supplying socially important goods.

We have been working within BRICS to ensure that there are no disruptions when carrying out payments and have been quite effective in our efforts. To give you an example, the rouble and currencies of our friendly countries accounted for 90 percent of Russia’s settlements with BRICS countries in 2024.

Establishing resilient payment mechanisms is also among our priorities. Adopted in Kazan, the declaration of the BRICS 2024 Summit mentions the Trans-Border Payment Initiative, as well as payment and clearing infrastructure, a re-insurance company, and the New Investment Platform. These initiatives are designed to create favourable conditions for increasing trade and investment within BRICS. Russia hopes that we will continue working on these projects this year as part of Brazil’s chairmanship.

Question: Does the creation of a single currency remain a long shot for BRICS?

Sergey Lavrov: The effort to move away from the dollar, also known as the dedollarisation, has been one of the defining global economic trends, which is attributable to the lack of trust towards the Western-led international financial institutions.

It would be premature to discuss a transition to a single currency for BRICS. We are working together to create a payment and settlement infrastructure for carrying out cross-border settlements among BRICS countries. In particular, as I have already said, this includes increasing the share of national currencies in our transactions.

We can come back to the question about a common currency or a single payment unit for BRICS once the necessary financial and economic conditions are in place.

Question: Reinforcing global governance and promoting multilateralism is another major topic for BRICS. What do you think BRICS countries can do to this effect?

Sergey Lavrov: BRICS has become much stronger compared to when this group took shape back in 2006. Today, it stands as a focal point with a mission to coordinate the interests of the Global Majority’s leading countries. BRICS fully adheres to the principles of equality, mutual respect and balance of interest among its participants. Russia views this group as one of the pillars of a multipolar world and an important mechanism for international cooperation.

BRICS tends to attract countries seeking equal partnerships for the sake of fostering shared development. It was during Russia’s chairmanship in 2024 that BRICS leaders reaffirmed their decision to invite Indonesia to join BRICS. We also created a special status for partners. Nine countries have obtained it so far.

That said, BRICS countries are not seeking to take someone else’s place. Their aim consists of creating a favourable environment for building capacity. The group has other priorities too, including supporting countries within the Global Majority in addressing the urgent challenges they face, as well as increasing the representation of the Global South and East in global governance.

Question: Brazil calls for expanding the UN Security Council. What is Russia’s current stance on this issue? Would it vote for making Brazil a permanent member?

Sergey Lavrov: Russia believes in a balanced reform of the Security Council as one of the main UN bodies, which is primarily responsible, as per the UN Charter, for maintaining international peace and security.

It is absolutely obvious to us that the shaping of a multipolar world should include broader representation of the countries of the Global South and East, that is, Asian, African and Latin American countries, at the UN Security Council.

We believe that Brazil, which is conducting an independent foreign policy and can make a substantial contribution to settling international problems, is the right candidate for a permanent seat on the UNSC. We also support the nomination of India, on the condition that Africa would be represented at the Security Council as well.

I would like to use this occasion to point out that we are against giving more seats to Western countries and their allies. There are too many of them at the Security Council as it is. We are not ready to support the nominations of Germany and Japan because of the revival of the militarist ideology there and their openly unfriendly policy towards Russia.

Question: During consultations between foreign policy planning departments of the BRICS countries' foreign ministries, the Russian delegation mentioned talks with the United States on the Ukrainian conflict. What conditions should be created for launching Russia-Ukraine peace talks?

Sergey Lavrov: During our contacts with representatives of the US administration, we provided the details of the root causes and genesis of the Ukrainian crisis. We explained the parameters necessary for its final settlement, with due regard for Russia’s legitimate interests, primarily in the sphere of security and human rights.

We got the impression that our American counterparts now have a better understanding of Russia’s stance on the situation around Ukraine. We hope that this will help them during their dialogue with Kiev and individual European countries. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed me of the engagements he had in Paris on April 17 later the same day. He noted that the discussion was held in the spirit of the Moscow-Washington consultations.

We remain open to negotiations, but the ball is not in our court. Kiev has not shown readiness for negotiations so far. The latest evidence of that is the Ukrainian armed forces’ inability to respect the 30-day moratorium on strikes on energy facilities (March 18 to April 17) or the 30-hour Easter truce (from 6 pm on April 19 to midnight on April 21). Zelensky’s regime has shown that is lacks the political will for peace and the ability to stop the war, which is being fuelled by the Russophobic circles of certain EU countries, primarily France and Germany, as well as Britain.

Question: Do you think that other countries should take part in the potential peace talks, for example, Brazil, which maintains dialogue with both sides?

Sergey Lavrov: Russia appreciates the striving of our partners to help create conditions for a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Over 20 countries and a number of regional associations in Latin America, Asia and Africa have put forth such initiatives.

Brazil is one of such countries. In January 2023, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva proposed creating a multilateral negotiating format. That idea was reflected in the Brazilian-Chinese initiative for establishing the Group of Friends for Peace in Ukraine at the UN. Its operation is gaining momentum. The Group has held three meetings, and there are grounds to assume that it can become a respected platform of the countries of the Global South and East.

It is essential that all members of that Group of Friends for Peace take the root causes of the crisis into account and are guided in their activities by the principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and as a whole. The principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states should not be applied in isolation from the right of nations to self-determination and the protection of human rights without distinction of any kind, such as language, race, sex and religion.

Question: On what terms would Russia agree to come to the negotiation table with Ukraine at this point?

Sergey Lavrov: I have already given you part of the answer to this question. It was Kiev which withdrew from the negotiating process in April 2022. It acted this way at the request of its Western curators. In September of the same year, Vladimir Zelensky outlawed all talks with Russia. This piece of legislation remains in force. It must be cancelled. Otherwise, talks cannot resume. In his recent interview with CBS, Vladimir Zelensky once again spoke out against talks with Russia. Let me quote his words: “We can't trust Russia. It's that we can't trust negotiations with Russia.”

We have made no secret regarding our position on the settlement. Russia proceeds from the premise that Kiev’s non-accession to NATO, as well as reaffirming its neutral and non-aligned status as per the 1990 Declaration on Ukraine’s State Sovereignty–-these factors form one of the two pillars for a final settlement to the Ukraine crisis that would meet Russia’s security interests. The second pillar consists of overcoming the legacy of the neo-Nazi regime which took power in Kiev after the February 2014 putsch, including the initiative by its perpetrators to eradicate and cancel, in both physical and legislative terms, everything Russian, be it the Russian language, media, culture, traditions, or the canonical Orthodox faith.

The international recognition of Crimea, Sevastopol, the DPR, the LPR, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as part of Russia is another imperative.

All the commitments Kiev assumes must be legally binding, contain enforcement mechanisms and be permanent.

Demilitarising and de-Nazifying Ukraine is also on the agenda, along with lifting sanctions, withdrawing lawsuits and cancelling arrest warrants, as well as returning Russian assets subjected to the so-called freeze in the West.

We will also insist on obtaining solid security guarantees for the Russian Federation in order to shield it from any threats emanating from hostile activities by NATO, the European Union and some of their member states along our western border.

Question: What do you think about the role and actions by the EU and the United States in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the current stage?

Sergey Lavrov: The European Union has been sticking with its policy to offer all-round support to the Kiev regime. Brussels does not want anything but Moscow’s unconditional defeat. Any other outcome would amount to losing the geopolitical game for it. The EU believes that by ending its support to Ukraine it would demonstrate its strategic incompetence and impotence. In other words, the bureaucrats in Brussels focus on saving their reputation rather than achieving a fair and lasting peace.

Instead of facilitating a settlement, the European Union has been seeking to undermine agreements by arguing that there has been little, if any, effort to invite it to contribute to these talks. At the same time, the EU is preparing to send military units from NATO countries to Ukraine despite all our warnings that this would be unacceptable. Arms deliveries to Kiev are continuing. The EU also plans to ramp up defence manufacturing. They are creating all these coalitions of the willing and discussing ways of creating extra-budgetary mechanisms for procuring more weapons for Kiev.

Against this backdrop, the fact that the current administration in the United States is trying to understand the root causes of the crisis is quite encouraging and contrasts with the Joe Biden administration, which pumped the Kiev regime full of lethal weapons and was proactive in its efforts to draw Ukraine into NATO. President Donald Trump has said many times that there would be no conflict if the preceding administration did not seek to drag Ukraine into NATO. Moscow and Washington maintain a dialogue to find a path towards a settlement. We hope that this paves the way for mutually acceptable results. [My Emphasis]

While editing this the CSN&Y song “Wooden Ships” was played, and this line is in-tune with the Global Majority’s aspirations: “We are leaving; you don’t need us.” I’m somewhat surprised no questions about tariffs and Trump’s Trade War were asked. Implied in Lavrov’s answers about BRICS is Russia’s hope that Brazil will be able to keep the momentum launched at Kazan going. The issue of a BRICS currency was put forward far too early as the basic underlying structure needs to be constructed first. IMO, this article has some worthwhile suggestions to contemplate as the BRICS universe matures, and its financial architecture grows more widespread and robust.

On the Ukraine issue, IMO more needs to be voiced about the EU/NATO’s overt support for an obvious Nazi regime. making that group again accomplices to a major crime against humanity. And in making this critique, the initial Aggressor—The Outlaw US Empire— must be named and also connected to its continual abetting of Nazism, Genocide in Palestine, and its own several Genocides in Southeast and Northeast Asia—the last 75 years of its history damn its leaders and everything they’ve said the Empire stands for.

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