Taking part in the meeting were Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federative Republic of Brazil to the Russian Federation Antonio José Vallim Guerreiro, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Indian Republic Ajit Kumar Doval, Member of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Yang Jiechi and State Security Minister of the South African Republic David Mahlobo.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends.
I am very happy to have this opportunity to meet with you in Moscow.
I know that this is the fifth meeting of high-ranking officials in charge of national security matters in their respective countries. This is obviously a very important area for an organisation like BRICS, considering the challenges the entire international community and our countries have to face today.
Clearly, combatting organised crime, terrorism and financial crime is on the agenda of the international community. It is also obvious that our countries have to face serious threats due to violations of international law and the national sovereignty of states in various spheres of activity.
We all know what is happening now, say, in the Middle East or in North Africa, and we are aware of the problems connected with the terrorist organisation that calls itself the Islamic State. However, prior to unacceptable external interference carried out without any sanctions from the United Nations Security Council, the countries where this organisation now flourishes had no terrorism at all. The consequences are clearly grave and everything that happened in the past years on the international arena needs to be adjusted.
In this connection, I see your meeting as an important stage in preparations for the BRICS summit in Ufa this July. I would like to thank you for your efforts to prepare this event and I expect it to be well organised and to cover issues of vital significance for the successful development of our states.
Thank you very much for coming to Russia and welcome.
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