Putin organizes the BRICS meeting as a counterweight to Western influence

2024-10-22 20:12:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders arrived in the Russian city of Kazan on Tuesday for the high-level meeting of the BRICS bloc, a group of emerging economies. The Kremlin hopes to turn it into an initiative that will challenge Western influence in global affairs.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the three-day meeting also offers a way to demonstrate the failure of Washington-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov called the meeting "the biggest foreign policy event ever organized" by Russia. 36 countries participate in the meeting. Over 20 of them are represented by heads of state.

The alliance that originally consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has rapidly expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and several others have expressed interest in joining.

Observers see the BRICS high-level meeting as part of the Kremlin's efforts to show it enjoys support from countries in the global southern hemisphere amid rising tensions with the West and to help expand economic and financial ties. .

The proposed projects include the creation of a new payment system that would provide an alternative to the SWIFT global banking telecommunications network and allow Moscow to avoid Western sanctions and trade with partners.

President Putin, who will hold around 20 bilateral meetings during the BRICS summit, has already met with Indian Prime Minister Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The high-level meeting underscores the close relationship between Presidents Xi and Putin, who announced the launch of a "borderless" partnership weeks before Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in 2022. They have met twice this year, in Beijing in May and during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Kazakhstan in July.

Russia's cooperation with India has also intensified as New Delhi considers Moscow a partner since the Cold War, despite Russia's close ties with India's arch-rival China.

Western allies want India to be more active in persuading Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, but Prime Minister Modi has refused to publicly condemn Russia's aggression.

"We believe that problems should be resolved peacefully and we fully support achieving peace and stability as soon as possible," said Prime Minister Modi, who last visited Russia in July.

Russian President Putin hailed what he described as a "privileged strategic partnership" between Russia and India.

During a meeting with South African President Ramaphosa, Mr. Putin emphasized their joint efforts for a "just global order." He also specifically mentioned the efforts of BRICS members to create a "new independent payment system".

On Thursday, President Putin will also meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will make his first visit to Russia in over two years. Mr. Guterres has repeatedly criticized Russia's actions in Ukraine./ VOA