Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other world leaders at the start of a three-day BRICS summit, reaffirming that Moscow was still open to the world.
The three-day summit began on Tuesday when Putin’s government invited two dozen world leaders to the Russian city of Kazan. The meeting, the first since the bloc expanded in 2023, will allow Moscow to show that Russia’s political isolation since the outbreak of war in Ukraine is just a media ploy.
Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the summit, making it Russia’s biggest event since 2022.
Xi said the cooperation “injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries.” Modi also welcomed the strengthening of ties in the face of global militarisation.
We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We believe that disputes should only be resolved peacefully. We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also called Moscow “valued ally” during talks with Putin.
We continue to see Russia as a valued ally, as a valued friend, who supported us right from the beginning: from the days of our struggle against Apartheid, right through to now.
BRICS originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as an alternative to the Western economic order supported by the US and the EU. In 2023, BRICS decided to extend its co-operation to include more countries of the developing Global South.
36 countries confirmed their participation in the summit, with Putin holding about 20 bilateral meetings, making the event “the largest foreign policy event ever held” in Russia.
Peace efforts
Meanwhile, Ukraine condemned the participation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the summit in Kazan. Kyiv said Guterres rejected its invitation to the peace summit in Switzerland but accepted Putin’s proposal.
World leaders called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine on Wednesday as Putin told them he welcomed offers to mediate in the Ukraine conflict. He also reportedly faced calls for an end to the Ukraine conflict from some of his closest partners.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian called on BRICS members to “use all their collective and individual capacities to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon.” Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also urged to avoid escalation in both the Middle East and Ukraine.
As we face two wars that have the potential to become global, it is essential to restore our ability to work together toward common goals.
Guterres will reportedly hold direct talks with Putin on Ukraine on Thursday.
Meanwhile, reports that BRICS is threatening to collapse the dollar have turned out to be fake. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “co-operation within BRICS is not […] directed […] neither against the dollar nor against other currencies.”
The US voiced concerns that the launch of the BRICS Bridge payment system would allow the bloc’s partners to settle accounts with each other without using the dollar. According to Russian media, the system will be operational next year and will allow central banks of various nations to directly conduct transactions in national digital currencies.
Economists note that BRICS has surpassed the G7 countries in terms of share of global GDP. The alliance covers almost a quarter of all world trade, nearly half of oil output and 30 per cent of the world’s land.
