Ukrainian Diplomat: India Versus Lukashenka In Brics Group

New Delhi does not want the grouping to become an authoritarian club.

The annual summit of the Brics member states - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - started in the Republic of South Africa yesterday, August 22. Putin missed it because of his fear of being arrested on the ICC warrant.

Has this grouping managed to become a real counterbalance to the West, or is it a situational alliance? Will Lukashenka be able to join the Brics? The journalists of Charter97.org asked about this Ukrainian diplomat Oleksandr Khara, a political scientist and expert at the Maidan of Foreign Affairs Foundation:

– You know, it is unlikely that in the near future the Brics, even in the case of its empowerment, can become a real counterbalance to the West. There are a number of reasons for this. This is an association of those who want to be able to develop economically outside the framework of the global economy controlled by the West.

Most of the countries that are members of this grouping, as well as those who want to join it, intend to continue using the Brics group as an instrument of economic development. At the same time, China and Russia would like to make Brics a geopolitical anti-Western platform.

I must say right away that they have definitely not succeeded and will not succeed, since technologies and the economic center are still in the West. In order to make a breakthrough in their development, all the Brics member states need access to Western technologies, finance and markets.

There is no other way to solve this issue due to the fact that China is facing not the best days in terms of economic recovery after COVID-19 and the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Not to mention the US reaction to China's growing role in the Indo-Pacific region. Accordingly, the United States deters and counteracts China. The US, South Korea and Japan held an extremely important summit just recently.

Therefore, no, it is not an anti-Western grouping in the full sense of the word. By the way, the absence of Putin at the Brics summit is wonderful.

– As for Putin, what role does Russia play in this group?

– Let's recall that in the 90s, Mr. Primakov [the former Chairman of the Russian government Yevgeny Primakov - Ed.] came up with the ideas of foreign policy, which are now called the "Primakov Doctrine". It says that Russia should restore its influence in the post-Soviet space, oppose NATO expansion and strive for a multipolar world, using China as the most important partner.

By and large, this is the main ideological framework for the entire foreign policy of the Yeltsin Period and for more than 20 years of Putin’s rule. For him, Brics is an important geopolitical project, where he can compensate for the lack of his resources at the expense of others. I’d like to clarify that he is not doing well there because, for example, India - a country with the largest population and rapidly developing economy - is the largest democracy in the world. By the way, the US and Europe understand that India is an extremely important partner.

So, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an option to gain access to Western technologies and markets, giving impetus to the development of the economy of his country and its role in the region. Also, he can follow the Russian lead without getting anything in turn. After all, Russia is only able to sell oil and grain dirt-cheap, including stolen in Ukraine. It is not very clear whether the Indians will keep buying Russian weapons after everyone saw that “no analogues” was a joke.

Naturally, Russia cannot form a dominant opinion among the Brics members in order to bring them to its side both regarding the war with Ukraine and the general confrontation with the West.

In fact, the Russian Federation cannot offer anything other than its desire to fight the West. It is an ideological bankrupt. Russia has a ‘microscopic’ economy in the global sense. As for technology, the situation with Luna-25 is obvious. That is, the Russians could not even repeat Soviet technologies in order to make an image project. Russia is a backward nation with little to offer the world other than the Wagner Group in Africa and anti-liberal rhetoric.

– You mentioned that there are countries that want to become members of the BRICS. Actually, Lukashenka expressed a desire to join it. Does the group need such an ally?

– That’s quite interesting, because some countries (including India, as far as I understand it), do not want to be drawn into a political confrontation with the West, they say, okay, expanding is a good idea, but let's define the criteria.

Again, everyone calls India the largest democracy in the world. Of course, there are features, but in general, it is true. So, India does not want Brics to become an authoritarian club. Therefore, Belarus obviously should be a member if it is about a united front against the West. Lukashenka's demagogue will be very useful there on the podium, talking about the "shortcomings of capitalism" and "America's imperialism".

From the point of view of economic interests, it is clear that Belarus under Lukashenka is an appendicitis of the Russian Federation. True, it may be beneficial for China since Belarusian enterprises may help it to solve its arms surveys, including heavy ones.

Also, Belarus is close to the EU and NATO. It can be used as an instrument of irritation and attempts to divide NATO member states, but as an economic factor, Belarus under Lukashenka is not interesting at all.

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