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The sense of duty of Russia and China as great powers remain unaltered, he pointed out. On Tuesday, President Xi Jinping met with President Vladimir Putin during the BRICS summit in Kazan, where he reaffirmed China’s “unbreakable” friendship with Russia.

“The international situation is undergoing significant changes and turbulence, but this cannot weaken my conviction in the unbreakable strategic choice of both countries,” the Chinese President said, emphasizing that despite unprecedented tectonic shifts in several centuries, the deep friendship between the Chinese and Russians, and their sense of duty as great powers, remain “unaltered.”

Xi thanked Putin for the invitation to visit the Tatar capital and noted that this was the third meeting between the two leaders this year. He also highlighted that Russia and China recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

“We have taken the right path in building relations between major powers based on the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and not being directed against third countries,” the Chinese leader said, emphasizing that BRICS is one of the most important platforms for promoting a new multipolar world order.

In this regard, he also stressed the great significance of the Kazan summit, as it will be the first BRICS meeting since the inclusion of Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia.

The Russian president emphasized that strategic relations with the Asian giant are an “example” for all countries, as they are mutually beneficial and not based on short-term circumstances.

“Russian-Chinese cooperation in global affairs is one of the stabilizing factors in the international arena. We intend to continue expanding cooperation on all international platforms to ensure global security and a just world order,” he noted.

Putin will host a dinner later today, which will be attended by the leaders of the nine BRICS members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia. Representatives from over 20 countries interested in joining this economic cooperation group will also be present.

“There is no doubt that the greatest responsibility lies with the rich countries, whose emissions record has culminated in the climate crisis that afflicts us today. We need to go beyond the 100 billion [dollars] a year pledged but not fulfilled. And strengthen measures to monitor the commitments made,” he said.

“The scientific data expresses an unprecedented sense of urgency. The planet is one and its future depends on collective action. It is also up to the emerging countries to do their part,” said Lula, recalling that Brazil will host the 2025 Climate Summit (COP) in Belém (PA).

Lula took advantage of his speech to the BRICS to “publicize” the country's agenda at the head of the G20 - the group that brings together the world's main economies. Brazil, in its rotating presidency of the G20, has emphasized issues such as the taxation of large fortunes worldwide and the creation of a “global alliance” to end hunger.

“I want to thank the members of the group for their support for the Brazilian presidency of the G20. Their backing has been fundamental to making progress on initiatives that are key to reducing inequalities, such as taxing the super-rich. Our countries have implemented successful social policies in recent decades, which can serve as an example to the rest of the world.”

“The Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty is already at an advanced stage of membership. I invite everyone to join the initiative that was born in the G20, but is open to other participants,” he said.

Lula once again criticized Israel's military response against Hamas and Hezbollah and said that it is “crucial” to start peace negotiations. In front of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lula mentioned the “conflict between Ukraine and Russia”, but did not emphatically condemn the invasion - as he did, for example, when he called the Gaza Strip “the world's largest cemetery for children and women”.

“As President Erdogan said at the UN General Assembly, Gaza has become the world's largest cemetery for children and women. This senselessness is now spreading to the West Bank and Lebanon. Preventing an escalation and starting peace negotiations is also crucial in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia,” he said. Lula also said that Brazil's presidency of the BRICS, until 2025, will have as its motto “strengthening cooperation in the Global South for more inclusive and sustainable governance”.

Libs were angry that Lula did not condemn/mention the Hamas attack against Israel.

Lula said that during Brazil's presidency of the BRICS, he will work to “reaffirm the bloc's vocation in the fight for a multipolar world and for less asymmetrical relations between countries”. The president advocated expanding access for poorer countries to technologies such as vaccines and artificial intelligence.

“We cannot accept the imposition of 'apartheids' in access to vaccines and medicines, as has happened in the pandemic, nor in the development of artificial intelligence, which is heading towards becoming the privilege of a few,” he said.

“We need to strengthen our technological capacities and favor the adoption of non-exclusive multilateral frameworks, in which the voice of governments prevails over private interests,” he added.

Lula praised the work of the New Development Bank (NDB), currently chaired by Dilma Rousseff, and stressed that it is necessary to discuss the creation of alternative means of payment for transactions between countries in the bloc with “seriousness, caution and technical solidity”.

“Now is the time to move forward in creating alternative means of payment for transactions between our countries. It's not a question of replacing our currencies, but we must work to ensure that the multipolar order we are aiming for is reflected in the international financial system. This discussion needs to be tackled with seriousness, caution and technical soundness, but it can no longer be postponed,” he said.

The measure aims to replace the dollar as the standard currency for transactions between nations. In the day-to-day life of the population of these countries, the local currency would continue to be used - like the real in Brazil, for example.

“An economy that is not based on sanctions, blackmail, or economic coercion, but rather an economy based on cooperation, truly free trade, shared investment, and new technology,” he highlighted.

“The BRICS have already become the epicenter of the New Multipolar World. The BRICS are the epicenter of the world, of the new geopolitics, of diplomacy, of peace, and, above all, they are the hope for the Global South countries that aspire to development that we have sought for 200 years,” stated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro upon arriving in Kazan, Russia, in the evening (local time) to participate in the BRICS Summit.

While speaking to the media, the head of state emphasized that his delegation brings to Russia the banner of equality and freedom, seeking the possibility of accessing a different economy. “An economy that is not based on sanctions, blackmail, or economic coercion, but rather an economy based on cooperation, truly free trade, shared investment, and new technology,” he highlighted.

The president also assured that Venezuela is part of this new BRICS world, and that his presence at the Summit aims to “share our dreams, our hopes for a world without colonialism, without hegemonism, without imperialism; a world where emerging superpowers can share with the countries from the Global South” that aspire to independence, development, and prosperity.

Furthermore, the head of state stated that the main expectation of the Venezuelan delegation in Kazan “is to contribute, from Bolivarian Venezuela, to the construction of a new world from South America, from our America.”

In this regard, Maduro reminded that there exists another America, one of peace and men and women who aspire to freedom and equality. “There is a non-colonialist America commemorating 200 years of the historic battles of Junin and Ayacucho; it is Our America, and from Our America, we tell the rest of the world that we are ready to build a new world.”

Referring to opportunities for consolidating Venezuela as an oil power, the dignitary recalled that the Bolivarian government has always envisioned the possibility of coming together in an economic project of development and cooperation with countries that possess the largest oil reserves in the world, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

“In this space, which is the epicenter of the new world, we already have the four major oil-producing countries in the world, and Venezuela, modestly, comes to offer its part from an economic project of autonomy and endogenous development, from an economic project that requires a high level of investment,” he stated.

On this topic, he highlighted that Executive Vice President and Minister of Oil Delcy Rodríguez had previously arrived in Kazán to present a range of investment options to BRICS Plus countries and predicted good news in that direction.

He also mentioned that he expects to meet with the president Vladimir Putin and other leaders as part of his work agenda in Kazan.

At the last minute Muslim leaders in Denmark have pulled out of a meeting with regime officials scheduled to take place today. The meeting whose official agenda was to address anti-Semitism was initially perceived by Muslim leaders as a dialogue meeting but following a recent article in reactionary broadsheet Jyllands-Posten, the agenda has now shifted to what Danish Muslim Union spokesperson Urfan Ahmed describes as "a one-sided monologue" which would "create more division than dialogue". Ahmed stated that Muslim leaders "will not attend a meeting where the agenda is to shame one population group at the expense of another."

According to Jyllands-Posten, the meeting, organized by Social Democrat Immigration Minister Kaare Dybvad and Liberal Party Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs Morten Dahlin, aimed to "lecture" the Muslim community on so-called anti-Semitism. The article quoted the officials for intending to "make it very clear" that imams are responsible for what, in their view, are "pockets of Muslim communities where hatred of Jews and sympathy for terrorism thrive."

Islamophobia and zionism are widespread among Denmark's political elite who often conflate anti-zionism with anti-Semitism in an attempt to discredit the Palestinian liberation movement. Dybvad and Dahlin are both known islamophobes and the regime has taken steps to criminalise pro-Palestinian activism while allowing unhindered zionist hate speech.

In addition to cancelling today's meeting Muslim leaders extended an invitation to the two ministers to meet at the offices of the Danish Muslim Union to engage in a broader discussion on both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, but no response has been received from the government.

In a statement following the cancellation, the two ministers claimed to be at a loss. Kaare Dybvad persisted in scapegoating Muslims, saying that "Unfortunately, this says a lot about the difficulty some Danish Muslims have in acknowledging the problems of anti-Semitism and radicalization."

Dybvad has further made the claim that "the current atmosphere would change" if "imams took far more active ownership of promoting tolerance toward Jews".

Urhan Ahmed points out that the claims of widespread anti-Semitism in the Muslim community lacks solid evidence. The report used by the regime to back up it's claims was commissioned by Jyllands-Posten following last year's Al-Aqsa Flood and has severe methodological flaws, resulting in it being dismissed by experts.

He rejects claims that Islam has anything to do with antisemitism and says:

"It is very disappointing for me, and we are deeply saddened that this form of suspicion is coming from the top of Danish political life"

• Source: DR (state media), October 24th 2024