Today at 12:19
BRICS summit is a show-off to show putin is not isolated, that much is clear. It didn’t go too well if you ask me. But did putin found what he wanted? And what was it he wanted, anyway?
Watch an interview with former Special Advisor of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Cormac Smith.
— Antonio Gutierrez in Russia… well, yeah, why? What was it all about?
— Well, you know, I mentioned earlier this week that this seriously calls into question the credibility and, indeed, the integrity of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
This is the same Secretary General who refused an invitation to a Ukrainian peace conference held in Switzerland earlier this year, yet he seems very eager to shake hands and give warm embraces to some of the world’s worst autocrats and dictators.
Look, we know that the “axis of evil” includes Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. Putin and Xi, in particular, have made no secret of how much they detest our rules-based order. Increasingly, I think Vladimir Putin is using BRICS as a platform to oppose our rules-based order, and now it seems he has the Secretary General of the United Nations as a firm ally. It’s quite frankly disgusting.
— You know, the Secretary General’s role is a high position, with a career and reputation that should mean something. But it’s like he’s thrown all that to the bin. It’s almost funny to see what’s happening. I mean, of course, a BRICS Summit is a show to prove that Putin isn’t isolated. I don’t think it went all that well, but do you think Putin got what he wanted? And what exactly is it that he wanted to achieve?
— Yes, unfortunately, I do think Putin got what he wanted. This Summit was attended by 36 countries in total, including new BRICS members like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
As I mentioned, Putin is increasingly using BRICS, which initially started as an economic platform, as a way to oppose our rules-based order.
And if anyone needs a reminder, that order came out of the rubble of the Second World War, based on principles like human rights, freedom, democracy, and, above all, the rule of law. The fundamental idea is that one country cannot simply march into another and use force to take what it wants.
I grew up thinking we had left such times behind after World War II, but here we are in 2024, closer to the brink of a third world war than at any other point in our lifetimes.
— I understand that, but one thing I can’t wrap my head around is Gutierrez’s actions. What do we do about all this? Do you think Zelenskyy made the right call by denying Gutierrez’s visit to Ukraine? Was that the proper thing to do?
— Yes, I absolutely think it was the proper thing to do.
Gutierrez has clearly chosen his side, and that side is against the rules-based order and everything we stand for and aspire to.
Yes, our leaders have made mistakes over the years—people often point that out to me—but we are democracies. In countries like Ukraine and other democracies, governments are elected by the people and are there to work in the people’s interest.
In contrast, if you look at the big four autocracies—Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea—they are places where the ruling class plunders from its people while causing havoc for their neighbors. These regimes don’t serve the good of their own people; they exist to serve a small elite. By his actions this week, Gutierrez has clearly taken a side, and frankly, I’m not sure what useful purpose the United Nations serves anymore, especially in the context of Russia’s genocidal and illegal war against Ukraine.
Read also: Glenn Grant: The Axis of Evil Grew Because of Western Weakness
