🤝 On October 29, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with the heads of diplomatic missions of the #BRICS countries accredited in Moscow.

They discussed ways to further strengthen strategic partnerships within BRICS in the light of the outcomes of the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan on October 22-24 and chaired by Russia.

The Parties had a thorough exchange of views on the situation in and around Ukraine. The Russian Side laid out the fundamental approaches to the Ukrainian crisis resolution based on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative of June 14, highlighting the cornerstones of Moscow’s stance on the issue.

Those include:

• withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from all Russian regions,
• recognition of those regions as Russian territory,
• termination of Kiev’s attempts to apply for NATO membership,
• the lifting of Western sanctions against Russia,
• all-out guarantees of the rights of the Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine.

The meeting took place in a friendly and constructive atmosphere.