Russian President Vladimir Putin presided at the closing session of a summit of the BRICS group of nations, praising its role as a counterbalance to what he called the West’s “perverse methods”.
The Russian leader accused the West of trying to stem the growing power of the Global South with “illegal unilateral sanctions, blatant protectionism, manipulation of currency and stock markets, and relentless foreign influence ostensibly promoting democracy, human rights, and the climate change agenda.”
“Such perverse methods and approaches — to put it bluntly — lead to the emergence of new conflicts and the aggravation of old disagreements,” Putin said.
“One example of this is Ukraine, which is being used to create critical threats to Russia’s security, while ignoring our vital interests, our just concerns, and the infringement of the rights of Russian-speaking people.”
Putin and the Kremlin have long justified their full-scale invasion of Russia’s neighbour in early 2022 by claiming the West has been using Ukraine as a puppet against Moscow and that the government in Kyiv has acted vindictively against its Russian-speaking citizens. However, it has never provided any evidence to back these claims.
Money talks
At the Kazan summit, Russia specifically pushed for creating a new payment system to offer an alternative to the global bank messaging network SWIFT and allow Moscow to dodge Western sanctions for its war in Ukraine.
In a joint declaration Wednesday, the signatories voiced concern about “the disruptive effect of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions,” praising what they say will be “faster, low-cost, more efficient, transparent, safe and inclusive cross-border payment instruments built upon the principle of minimizing trade barriers and non-discriminatory access.”
China’s President Xi Jinping has emphasised the bloc’s role in ensuring global security. Xi noted that China and Brazil have put forward a peace plan for Ukraine and sought to rally broader international support. Ukraine has rejected the proposal.
“We should promote the de-escalation of the situation as soon as possible and pave the way for a political settlement,” Xi said Thursday.
Russia’s cooperation with India also has flourished as New Delhi sees Moscow as a time-tested partner since the Cold War despite Russia’s close ties with India’s rival, China.
While Western allies want New Delhi to be more active in persuading Moscow to end the fighting in Ukraine, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has avoided condemning Russia while emphasizing a peaceful settlement.
Moscow elated
Putin, who held a series of bilateral meetings on the summit’s sidelines, was set to meet Thursday with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is making his first visit to Russia in more than two years.
Guterres’ trip drew criticism from Kyiv due to the fact that the UN chief refused to participate in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula summit, but accepted the Kremlin’s invitation to Kazan.
Additionally, critics have slammed the UN secretary general for meeting Putin despite the ICC arrest warrant issued against the Russian leader for his alleged responsibility for war crimes.
Meanwhile, addressing the BRICS Plus session, Guterres urged an immediate end to the fighting in the neighbouring nation. “We need peace in Ukraine, a just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions,” he said.
Russia’s Kremlin-controlled media touted the summit as a massive policy coup that left the West fearing the loss of its global clout. State TV shows and news bulletins underscored that BRICS countries account for about half the world’s population, comprising the “global majority” and challenging Western “hegemony”.
TV hosts elaborately quoted Western media reports saying that the summit highlighted the failure to isolate Moscow. “The West, the US, Washington, Brussels, London ended up isolating themselves,” said Yevgeny Popov, host of a popular political talk show on state channel Rossiya 1.
Founded in 2009, the alliance initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Since then, it has expanded to Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia have formally applied to join, and several other countries have expressed an interest.
The summit was attended by leaders or representatives of 36 countries, prompting the Kremlin to tout the summit as “the largest foreign policy event ever held” by Russia.
However, the heads of Brazil, Cuba and Serbia have all cancelled their participation in Kazan, prompting questions about the BRICS’s actual strength and pull.
