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The Russian-Belarusian military grouping was created to ward off a potential invasion, a senior diplomat explains The joint Russian-Belarusian military force performs a solely defensive role, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said on Saturday. The diplomat also dismissed any speculation that it could be deployed in the Ukraine conflict.

The group will account for 40% of global GDP within four years, the head of the New Development Bank has said The BRICS member states will overtake the G7 in terms of share in global GDP within the next four years, the head of the New Development Bank (NDB), Dilma Rousseff, said on Tuesday.