"Humanity is basically in the teeth of death now, as the world order is shifting, and the West is resisting it by military action. And this military action is now underway in Ukraine, a former Russian territory. But as we can see, an uncontrolled military escalation is taking place there that is deterred by nothing. Everyone says that the red lines, all the red lines, are crossed. Russia is restrained, but also ready for any possible scenario. Parallel to all this, a new structure, a new systemic organization of mankind is forming now. And BRICS is a key element of this new world order," Kiselev said in his welcome speech at the BRICS expert forum on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"BRICS offers the countries of the world, which is what is most attractive, to just be themselves. No one is forcing anyone to do anything. This is just our idea: be yourselves, don't be ashamed of it, and we will accept it. We will be friends with you and interact with you as you are. This is the most beautiful attitude in human relations between countries."
The European Union is not ready for contacts with BRICS, as the organizations are built differently, Russian lower house First Deputy Chairman Alexander Zhukov said at the forum.
"We used to have extensive contacts at one time ... Our EU colleagues - they are absolutely not ready for such contacts today," Zhukov said.
The BRICS expert forum, which is taking place on the sidelines of SPIEF, has been organized by Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent company, and China's Xinhua News Agency.
The Russian city of St. Petersburg is hosting the 27th edition of SPIEF from June 5-8. Last year, the forum drew 17,000 participants from 130 countries and saw the signing of more than 900 agreements.