"BRICS is not an instrument of counteraction to the West, we do not work against anyone, we work for our own interests, for the interests of the member countries of this organisation. We do not build any confrontational agenda within the framework of BRICS," Putin said at the annual Direct Line question-and-answer session combined with his end-of-year press conference, echoing Indian Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, who said that BRICS is not anti-West but a non-West group.
Many countries are showing interest in the development of BRICS because all decisions in the organisation are made by consensus, the president added.