The conflict in Ukraine is linked to the West's intention to "crush" BRICS, former South African President Jacob Zuma stated while he was addressing a small gathering of the South African National Civic Organization (Sanco) at KwaXimba, west of Durban.
"You go there, you attack and do everything. But you need to find a solution to solve a problem and this particular war is in fact linked to the existence of BRICS. They don't like the existence of BRICS. And this stated because they wanted to tie, to crush BRICS. But unfortunately, you can't crush BRICS," stated the former president.
BRICS unites Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the world's largest emerging economies. Bahrain, Nigeria, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE are countries that have expressed their interest in joining BRICS while Argentina, Algeria, Egypt and Iran have already applied for club membership.
The 15th BRICS summit will take place in August in South Africa, which took up the association's rotating chair in January.
Recently, Swiss politician and member of the Grand Council of Geneva Guy Mettan told Sputnik Africa that Western nations fear the rise of a multipolar world, led in particular by the BRICS, which, according to the expert, could put an end to Western (and, in particular, American) economic hegemony.
Zuma also said that NATO's expansion could be to blame for the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
"I think Russia has been saying this is their neighbour, you can't, in a neighbouring country, bring NATO to interfere with Russia," Zuma stated. "People must be honest that, in fact, they are breaking the rules of the world, because they are powerful."
Long before the conflict in Ukraine, Moscow had repeatedly cautioned that Ukraine's accession to NATO would be unacceptable for Russia, warning that such a step would be tantamount to crossing one of the Kremlin's 'red lines', that is, Russia's sensitive spheres of interests.
Zuma's statements follow Ramaphosa's visit to both conflicting countries accompanied by a peace team of African leaders and senior officials.
In an effort to mediate a settlement between the two nations, President Cyril Ramaphosa met with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.