The second international ‘BRICS-Europe’ symposium was held in Sochi

The Second International Symposium “BRICS — Europe” has ended in Sochi. Alongside the United Russia party, the event was organized by the international movement “The Other Ukraine” and the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The first symposium, which received wide international attention, took place exactly one year ago.

Welcome addresses to the participants were given by the Director of the Institute of Europe RAS Alexei Gromyko, the President of the India Foundation Ram Madhav, and the President of the “For Peace and Friendship Between Peoples” foundation Pierre de Gaulle, grandson of General Charles de Gaulle.

This year, the symposium was attended by 12 Members of the European Parliament and 15 parliamentarians from national legislatures of EU countries. Participation by representatives of BRICS member and partner states also expanded significantly, which indicates growing interest in dialogue in this format.

The main topic of discussion was relations between Russia and the European Union under current geopolitical conditions. Vladimir Yakushev, Secretary of the General Council of United Russia, stated that the leading EU countries support continuing the conflict in Ukraine, thereby seeking to “tie down Russia’s forces and limit its opportunities for development.”

In addition, Yakushev proposed granting the “BRICS – Europe” symposium the status of a permanent platform for interparliamentary and interparty cooperation.

“Right now, official channels of dialogue between Russia and most European states are effectively frozen. This makes alternative formats, which allow us to seek answers to the challenges of the time — including food and energy security — all the more valuable,” the General Council Secretary emphasized.

He also noted that United Russia advocates respectful and equal dialogue with European politicians, even in cases where the authorities of the relevant countries take an unfriendly stance.

Pierre de Gaulle, in turn, called in his speech on the peoples of Europe to “unite their efforts” against the current authorities in Europe in order to “return people their rights — to information, to choice.”

“Russia and its partners have long been shaping a new architecture of the world. Russia is a new trend and an image of the future,” he said.

The work of the symposium, co-organized by the movement “The Other Ukraine,” was structured around two sessions. The first, “BRICS and Europe: Sharing Traditional Values,” was devoted to a common vision of global governance. The second session — “Russia–EU: What Is to Be Done?” — focused on finding ways out of the current crisis in relations.

Participants in the forum expressed a unified position on the need to continue dialogue between expert and political circles in BRICS countries and Europe, despite ongoing disagreements.