Moscow [Russia], May 20 (ANI): Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov participated in the BRICS Foreign Ministers on Thursday through video conferencing, Embassy said in a press release.

China's President Xi Jinping opened the event with a welcoming address. In the meeting Chinese President noted that the relevance of the efforts of the BRICS countries and the entire international community is to support genuine multilateralism.

"During the meeting, a substantive exchange of views was held on topical issues on the international agenda. The Ministers discussed problems of strengthening collective principles in global affairs, regional conflicts, combatting new challenges and threats as well as interaction of the five states on multilateral platforms. Close attention was paid to the current state and prospects of the five-sided cooperation," according to the press release.

In his remarks, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov presented in detail fundamental assessments of the development of the situation in Ukraine and the special military operation.

The meeting also included a separate session within the BRICS Plus format with the participation of the Foreign Ministers of Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand and the UAE.

"They had engaged discussions on the state and prospects of the development of the global governance system with an emphasis on cooperation within the UN, the World Trade Organisation and the G20," the statement reads.

Last week, a meeting of the BRICS health ministers was also held that agreed on BRICS countries launching an early warning system for large-scale pandemics.

BRICS is a multilateral forum consisting of five major emerging economies of the world, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. (ANI)