Russian Foreign Ministry: BRICS is "the most important element of global governance"

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BRICS Summit participants: Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, President of China Xi Jinping and President of South Africa Jacob Zuma in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July 2014

Moscow has prioritised "efforts to transform the BRICS into one of the most important elements of the system of global governance" as part of a major foreign policy impetus, said the Russian Foreign ministry on Saturday.

"Crucial progress towards this goal has been made during the Fortaleza Summit (July 15-16)- the decision to establish a multilateral framework of the association of financial institutions - a New Development Bank and a contingent of foreign exchange reserves with a total resource of $200 billion," said a Russian Foreign Ministry statement on Saturday outlining the major foreign policy events in 2014.

BRICS leaders, who met on the sidelines of a G20 summit in November, have instructed their finance ministers to name the new bank's president by the time they next meet in Russia.

BRICS agreed on the structure of a $100 billion development bank, which will have its headquarters in China and with India holding its first rotating presidency. They also agreed on the creation of a $100 billion currency exchange reserve.

Russia has spoken "with one voice with its partners in the BRICS for the promotion of international stability in its various dimensions" said the Russian Foreign Ministry statement on Saturday.

The 6^th BRICS Summit, condemned "unilateral military intervention and economic sanctions", the Russian Foreign Ministry statement noted on Saturday.

The BRICS summit this year was largely seen as an opportunity for Russian President Vladimir Putin to boost his geopolitical sway amid isolation from the West over the crisis in Ukraine.

The bloc of five stood against one-sided economic and political measures by third countries, as outlined in a joint statement released after the July Summit.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that Russia will supply coal and electricity to Ukraine without advance payment as a goodwill gesture from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Putin made a decision to start these supplies due to the critical situation with energy supplies and despite a lack of prepayment," Peskov said.

However, restoration of Russian-US relations is possible only if Washington is ready to conduct a dialogue with Moscow as an equal partner, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

"We drew on the fact that restoration of bilateral relations would be possible if Washington showed its readiness to conduct a dialogue on the principles of true equality, and mutual respect for each party's interests," the Ministry's statement added.

Relations between Russia and the EU has also deteriorated amid the Ukrainian crisis, as European leaders criticized Moscow for its alleged role in backing the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Over the past few months, the EU, the US and their allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions targeting Russia's banking, energy and defense sectors, as well as a number of high-ranking officials.