Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Well to take an even closer look at the position of Russia on that world stage
00:03We can speak now to professor of Russian studies at the University of Saint-Gallant in Switzerland Ulrich Schmed
00:10Thanks so much for your time. Just looking at that summit, you know a three-day international summit
00:16He's joined by over 20 heads of state, you know this summit clearly showing that Putin does have power globally
00:22He hasn't lost it at all despite Western efforts
00:26In a certain sense, yes, but at the same time we shouldn't overestimate
00:31the significance of this summit
00:33I think already the fact that more than 20 head of states are attending is a success for Putin
00:42But at the same time there are also some bitter pills to swallow
00:47so for instance, the Serbian president is absent and
00:52Also, the Kazakh president is absent and at the same time we are hearing rumors
00:59that even the Brazilian president did not have a
01:04domestic accident
01:06But that the agendas between Brazil and Russia are so diverging
01:12that president
01:14Dalula preferred to attend online and not in person
01:19Indeed we had been told that he was unable to but maybe that's more a choice rather than a necessity interesting
01:26But you know seeing this grouping of nations
01:30It started with just the BRIC countries themselves that acronym, but it's expanded very rapidly
01:36You know are all these countries coming together to form what Putin would like to see a global East a real counterweight to the West in
01:43the world
01:44this is clearly the claim that especially Putin has but
01:49At the same time we have to see that this is a very heterogeneous
01:53Clock from the very beginning on as you know it back in 2001
01:59It was an economist who defined the group of the BRIC
02:03countries and then these countries took up this proposal and
02:09decided to form this organization and the
02:13Enlargement that is now being announced or already taking place rather weakens
02:20the whole
02:21organization then
02:23Strengthens it because we do have very diverging
02:27agendas among the the member states so for instance Russia and Iran are
02:34extremely interested to create
02:37alternative
02:38Trade platforms alternative payment systems to evade the heavy sanctions
02:45there under and at the same time we do have other countries who are just in favor of
02:52multilateral world orders such as Brazil or India and they at the same time
02:58Want to continue to have very good relations also with Western countries including the United States
03:07Indeed a Russia and Iran under sanctions want to move away from using the dollar for example and find another way around that
03:14But when you look at the last year, so that the war in Ukraine the invasion by Russia
03:20Hasn't really tarnished him in his relationship with this group of countries
03:25Yes, because
03:27Russia did not succeed to create support for Russia's position in the Ukraine war
03:36if we look for instance at the
03:39Indian Prime Minister Modi
03:43He showed up in Kiev, which was a huge diplomatic success for Ukraine
03:50of course
03:51Modi also
03:53Did not introduce sanctions against Russia
03:58He has met up with Putin
04:00But at the same times there were also clear critical signals from India
04:06At the address of Moscow. So for instance before the full-scale invasion in 22
04:13There was an annual meeting always in December between the two head of states of India and Russia and
04:21for the first time in December 22
04:24India cancelled this
04:27meeting and
04:29Modi also said at one point that this is not a time for war, but it's a time for peace and
04:37a similar position can also be seen in Beijing the Chinese are not amused with this war and
04:47I think this is also one of the many problems that this heterogeneous
04:53Summit has to cope with
04:55Do you expect anything any real outcome from this three-day summit?
05:00Well, the big items on the agenda are of course the buzzword
05:07De-dollarization, I don't think that there will be any significant success
05:13But as I said already
05:16the fact that Putin managed to get 20
05:21head of states to Russia is an enormous diplomatic success and will send out signals
05:29to the West and to the United States that Putin is not as
05:34Isolated as the West would like him to be
05:38Well, Ricky Smith. Thanks so much for your time and joining us here on France 24 very much appreciated