Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s latest interview with the Russian newspaper “Arguments and Facts”, which can be read in its original Russian here with the aid of Google Translate for those who need it, saw him politely correct Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for his alleged remark about BRICS. Tokayev’s representative recently implied that his boss is of the view that BRICS aspires to become an alternative to the UN. Here’s what he told local media according to TASS’ report about it:
“Kazakhstan will refrain from submitting an application to join BRICS, taking into account the multi-stage membership review process, as well as other factors related to the future development of this association. Kazakhstan follows with interest the development of BRICS and supports the calls to the founding member states to work on the establishment of a just, democratic world order, free from hegemony and superpowers.
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The president has repeatedly promoted the UN as a universal and indispensable organization, on the platform of which parties can and must discuss all topical international issues, including those related to the creation of a just world order. The UN has its shortcomings, but there are no alternative organizations, so that’s why it needs the support of the international community…[Tokayev] believes it is necessary to start reforming the UN Security Council after broad consultations with UN member states”.
Here’s how Lavrov reacted to that:
“This position needs to be clarified. Kazakhstan is a member of many other organizations – the OSCE, the CIS, the CSTO, the SCO and an active member of the Organization of Turkic States, which, at the initiative of Turkey, is now strengthening ties and is on the rise. The organization pays great attention to representatives of our Central Asian allies and strategic partners.
None of this prevents either Kazakhstan or other Central Asian countries from actively participating in the United Nations, which is a universal structure, but which is now experiencing a crisis through no fault of ours.
It seems to me that ultimately our southern neighbors, allies in the CSTO, and in the EAEU above all, will see direct benefits for themselves from rapprochement with BRICS. It is not necessary to join, but to cooperate in the implementation of specific projects – there is no doubt. This is in the interests of all of us.”
And here are three background pieces on Kazakhstan that help place its decision into context:
* 25 July 2023: “Russia’s Southern Transport Corridor To Central Asia Safeguards Against Kazakh Treachery”
* 30 September 2023: “Kazakhstan’s Pro-EU Pivot Poses A Challenge For The Sino-Russo Entente”
* 16 August 2024: “Kazakhstan’s Ambitious Regionalization Vision Presents Obstacles & Opportunities For Russia”
To summarize, Kazakhstan unofficially complies with some Western sanctions against Russia, which risks jeopardizing some of Russia’s trade with other Central Asian Republics and China. Even so, Kazakhstan’s economy is dependent on Russia so it can’t cut it off either, but it’s also trying to diversify its trade with China, the EU, and Turkiye via the “Middle Corridor”. The country’s leadership is thus very sensitive to Western perceptions that it’s siding with Russia out of fear that this will lead to more pressure upon it.
This explains why Tokayev’s representative announced that Kazakhstan won’t join BRICS due to his boss’ impression that it aspires to replace the UN, which is actually a false view but one that’s nonetheless heavily promoted by the Mainstream Media and even some influencers in the Alt-Media Community. Several days later, Putin channeled Indian Prime Minister Modi during a meeting with top BRICS journalists to clarify that “BRICS is not an anti-Western alliance; it is simply non-Western.”
Tokayev still plans to participate in this week’s BRICS Plus/Outreach format meetings so his Russian counterpart might hope that what he and Lavrov said in the intervening days since his representative’s announcement might get him to reconsider. Even if he remains recalcitrant due to Western pressure, it’s important to remember what Lavrov said about how “it is not necessary to join” BRICS in order to reap some of its benefits, particularly with regard to whatever regional projects it might soon unveil.
That point echoes the one that was made last month about how “BRICS Membership Or Lack Thereof Isn’t Actually That Big Of A Deal” since any country can still coordinate the acceleration of financial multipolarity processes with those countries without being a formal part of their network. That’s the whole point behind BRICS, which was never to serve as an alternative to the UN or assemble an anti-Western alliance, but simply to pool their efforts into reforming the global financial system.
Other forms of cooperation are possible too, but everything remains strictly voluntary since members don’t agree to surrender any degree of their sovereignty to BRICS upon joining, so whatever other initiatives might be discussed during this week’s summit would only be optional as well. Considering this, it’s unimportant whether or not Kazakhstan formally joins BRICS since it would retain its sovereignty either way, but hopefully it’ll still voluntarily cooperate with BRICS no matter what it decides to do.
