Brazil stands firmly against sanctions as means of political pressure, since they always end up hitting common people, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told RT in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the BRICS forum that she says was “excellent.”
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“In Brazil we oppose any policy based on sanctions,” Rousseff told RT Spanish on Thursday, commenting on US and EU sanctions against Russia. “We do not believe that sanctions can solve any problem.”
“On the contrary, sanctions, as a rule, end up punishing the population rather than the government. This is inexcusable,” she added, reminded of a very negative example in Latin America – a 50-year-old US embargo against Cuba which Brazil never supported and instead deepened its cooperation with Havana.
As for the sanctions against Russia, Rousseff confirmed that Moscow can count on Brazil in overcoming their effects, and said the issue was discussed during the BRICS leaders’ meetings.
“We are trying to express our position very clearly in international forums and oppose any such sanctions,” she added. “We do not just oppose sanctions vocally, but also take stances that show our words are backed with deeds.”
#Rousseff en exclusiva a RT: "Ha sido un gran éxito la cumbre de los #BRICS". No se pierda la entrevista: http://t.co/l1xThvnwQ6@dilmabr
— RT en Español (@ActualidadRT) July 9, 2015
The ongoing BRICS summit has already yielded “excellent” results, including a series of measures to kick-start the New Development Bank and the creation of a reserve currency pool for the bloc members.
“I think that this seventh BRICS summit has delivered excellent results for our relations. We have managed to elaborate on certain steps to create BRICS bank: define its management system, and even elected a president and vice-presidents,” Rousseff said. “We have also reached an agreement on creating a common reserve pool. It will serve as a kind of a buffer in case of a financial crisis.”
“Thus, I’m sure, the BRICS summit was a success, and that in addition to its excellent organization, which I mentioned earlier,” Rousseff added.