BRICS Countries Align on Key Counterterrorism Areas, Says Russian Official

NEW DELHI, May 22. /TASS/. The BRICS countries align on key areas of counterterrorism activity, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for New Challenges and Threats Pyotr Ilyichev, who led the Russian interagency delegation at the meeting of the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) and its five Subgroups in New Delhi, told TASS.

"We share common, general approaches," he said, emphasizing that "of course, there are nuances, because the number of countries [BRICS members] is growing, and each has its own national interests and specific characteristics." "But there were no significant contradictions during the work of our group," he stated.

According to Ilyichev, the meeting is proceeding "as always, constructively." "The delegations, in principle, are 90% on the same page when it comes to assessing the global terrorist threat, how to combat it, what new challenges exist, and how terrorists are adapting to changing technologies," he added, emphasizing that the work is progressing as planned.

"The presentations by the delegations, including ours, consistently included calls for deeper cooperation, greater information exchange, and responses to emerging threats and incoming signals," the diplomat stated.

Ilyichev noted that it is important that the BRICS countries are united in their understanding that "the root causes of the terrorist threat must be addressed first and foremost." "This includes countries’ underdevelopment, poverty, the lack of inclusion of certain groups in public governance, and failure to resolve long-standing regional conflicts, primarily in the Middle East and ongoing tensions around Iran," he noted.

"We also agree that the global counter-terrorism strategy rests on four main pillars: preventing terrorism, combating terrorism, enhancing countries’ technical capacity, and respecting human rights in the fight against terrorism. We advocate that the fight against terrorism should remain the primary focus. Unfortunately, our Western colleagues emphasize human rights issues," he concluded.