MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev has welcomed the desire of the BRICS countries to promote a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
"We value the understanding of the reasons for conducting the special military operation and a balanced assessment of the ongoing developments on the part of our BRICS partners," Rossiyskaya Gazeta quoted Patrushev as saying at a conference of high security representatives from the BRICS countries in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Patrushev welcomed the BRICS countries' desire "to facilitate a peaceful and negotiable settlement of the Ukraine crisis and offer mediating services."
"I'd like to stress that Russia is prepared for dialogue, which it has said repeatedly," he said.
"It's exclusively the Western patrons of the Kiev regime that need to be pushed towards negotiations, as it [Kiev] has forbidden itself from negotiating with our country," he said.