By Summary:
- Russia showcases growing BRICS’ clout
- BRICS partners pressing Putin for peace in Ukraine
- Putin lays down conditions for any ceasefire
- BRICS nations represent 35% of the global economy
- BRICS summit coincides with IMF and World Bank meetings
KAZAN, Russia – Russia wants the BRICS summit to showcase the rising clout of the non-Western world, but Moscow’s partners from China, India, Brazil and the Arab world are urging President Vladimir Putin to find a way to end the war in Ukraine.
The BRICS group now represents 45% of the global population and 35% of the world economy based on purchasing power parity, with China contributing more than half of the group’s economic strength.
Putin, who is cast by the West as a war criminal, told reporters from BRICS nations that “BRICS does not put itself into opposition to anyone”, and that the shift in the drivers of global growth was simply a fact.
“This is an association of states that work together based on common values, a common vision of development and, most importantly, the principle of taking into account each other’s interests,” he said.
The BRICS summit takes place as global finance chiefs gather in Washington, amid escalating conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, concerns about China’s slowing economy, and fears that the upcoming U.S. presidential election could spark new trade tensions.
Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, faced numerous questions from BRICS reporters about the prospects for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia delivering remarks via video link, during a summit of BRICS nations in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2024.
PUTIN SAYS HE WILL NOT GIVE UP SEIZED PARTS OF UKRAINE
In response to questions about Ukraine, President Putin made it clear that Moscow would not trade away the four eastern Ukrainian regions it says are now part of Russia, even though parts of them remain outside its control. He also emphasized that Russia’s long-term security interests in Europe must be considered in any resolution.
Two Russian sources said that while there is increasing talk in Moscow of a possible ceasefire agreement, there was nothing concrete yet – and that the world was awaiting the result of the Nov. 5 presidential election in the United States.
Russia, which is advancing, currently controls about one fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea which it seized and unilaterally annexed in 2014, as well as about 80% of the Donbas – a coal and steel zone comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – and over 70% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Putin said the West had now realized that Russia would be victorious, but that he remains open to talks based on the draft ceasefire agreements reached in Istanbul in April 2022.
On the eve of the BRICS summit, Putin met with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for informal talks that went on until midnight at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow.
Vladimir Putin speaks at the plenary session of the BRICS forum in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 21, 2024.
XI AND MODI ATTENDING SUMMIT, LULA ABSENT DUE TO ILLNESS
Putin praised the mediation efforts of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, although the Crown Prince will not be attending the summit in Kazan.
“I assure you that we will continue to work in this direction,” Sheikh Mohammed told Putin. “We are ready to make any efforts to resolve crises and in the interests of peace, in the interests of both sides.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the summit, but Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had to cancel his trip following medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights after suffering a minor brain hemorrhage from a head injury at home.
The acronym BRIC was originally coined in 2001 by former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper that underlined the massive growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China in the 21st century. Russia, India and China began to meet more formally, eventually adding Brazil, then South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has yet to formally join.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
BRICS’ share of global GDP is forecast to rise to 37% by the end of this decade while the share accounted for by the Group of Seven major Western economies will decline to about 28% from 30% this year, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.
Russia is pushing BRICS countries to create an alternative international payments system that would be resistant to Western sanctions. However, internal divisions remain within BRICS, with China and India—both major buyers of Russian oil—have difficult relations, while there is little love lost between Arab nations and Iran.
The 16th BRICS summit, taking place in Kazan, Russia, from October 22-24, is poised to be a pivotal event, being the first high-level meeting of the bloc since its latest expansion and showcasing the group’s growing influence on the world stage.
