Thirty-six world leaders, including those from China, India, Iran, and South Africa, have arrived at the BRICS summit in Russia. The Kremlin aims to establish mechanisms at the event to bolster its military efforts in Ukraine.
"Russia is likely to use the BRICS summit as an opportunity to showcase its efforts to strengthen global ties with non-Western countries and possibly secure agreements and trade mechanisms that will help support its military initiatives in Ukraine, mitigating the impact of Western sanctions," the Institute for the Study of War reports.
As noted, the Russian government met with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit. They emphasized the importance of multifaceted relations between the two nations, with the Chinese leader describing BRICS as a format for global strategic cooperation.
Additionally, the Kremlin leader discussed bilateral relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, focusing on the creation of a multipolar world order and the use of national currencies in mutual trade calculations. Meanwhile, Modi seized the opportunity to express the need to find a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine "as soon as possible" and affirmed India's role as a potential mediator.
BRICS Summit in Russia
This week, the BRICS summit is taking place in Kazan (Russia). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that BRICS is helping Putin to show the world, and primarily his own society, that there is no isolation for Russia.
The Telegraph has criticized UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who also chose to attend the summit.
As reported by UNIAN, Russia had previously announced its intention to promote the creation of a new international banking payment system based on the BRICS bloc. Moscow does not hide that it aims to circumvent the existing global financial system, in which Russia is under sanctions.