“These measures forced us to restrict our trade with the West and, on the contrary, we increased it with the BRICS members, a trend that continues today,” Majorova told the Sputnik agency.

The BRICS, initially made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was expanded this year with the entry of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran.

The Russian presidency of the group is carried out under the motto of strengthening multilateralism for the sake of fair and secure global development.

The alliance accounts for almost half of the world’s population, 40 percent of global oil production and around 25 percent of goods exports.

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