Germany
Source: www.freiheit.org

While the finance ministers and central bank governors are meeting in Washington this week for the traditional autumn meeting of the IMF and World Bank, a different kind of summit is taking place in Russia at the same time. From 22-24 October, it is the turn of President Vladimir Putin to host the 16th BRICS summit. A total of 32 foreign delegations from all over the world are expected to attend, 24 of them at the level of heads of state and government, including all of the nine BRICS members to date, as well as numerous other countries interested in membership, including with Turkey for the first time a NATO member state. It has not yet been confirmed whether UN Secretary-General António Guterres will also accept the Russian invitation to attend the summit. The summit was preceded by over 200 meetings and events over the course of 2024, which were organised by the Russian Presidency.

Kazan as a summit venue with dubious symbolic power

Putin is hosting the summit in Kazan, the capital of the Muslim-dominated republic of Tatarstan. The choice of location was intended as a symbolic sign of Russia's anti-imperial orientation and solidarity with the ‘Global South’ against the Western colonial powers. The irony, however, is that Russia itself conquered most of its territory through the colonisation of Siberia, the Caucasus and Central Asia and the Tatars were one of the first peoples to be subjugated. To this day, they, like all other national minorities in the Russian Federation, are centrally controlled and dominated from Moscow.

Russia's anti-Western course in BRICS controversial

For Putin, the summit is the most important foreign policy event of the year and he wants to use it to present himself on the world stage as a leader who is not internationally isolated, but who, with the BRICS states, represents the future ‘world majority’ (in terms of population and resources) and wants to enforce a multipolar world reorganisation against rule-based multilateralism. In order to emphasise its claim to a prominent geopolitical position, Russia redefined the ‘world majority’ as the ‘Global South and Global East’ in the run-up to the Kazan Summit, whereby Russia sees itself alongside China as the leading power of the ‘Global East’. In addition to the geopolitical significance of the meeting, economic cooperation and free access to new markets as well as the creation of new financial and settlement instruments that are not dominated by the West are of particular interest to Russia, which is subject to comprehensive Western economic sanctions due to the war against Ukraine. Both are reflected in the motto of the presidency, which reads: ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security’.

However, there is a wide gap between Russian aspirations and reality in many respects. Russia's intention to position the BRICS states as an alternative to the G7 and to pursue a strictly anti-Western course is meeting with resistance. Both the BRICS founding members India and Brazil as well as the new members (with the exception of Iran) and many of the candidates are pursuing a multi-vectoral foreign and economic policy, which also explicitly includes the continuation of bilateral cooperation with the West. This also applies decidedly to the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, which Russia counts as part of its sphere of interest and influence. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared immediately before the Kazan summit that his country would not be applying for BRICS membership in the foreseeable future ‘due to the development prospects of this association’. His press spokesman added that, in the national interest, Kazakhstan gives priority to the ‘UN as the universal organisation with no alternative, in which all current international problems can and must be discussed’. Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan, who is attending the summit at Putin's invitation, also made it clear that his country is not seeking membership of BRICS. Russia also wants to use its BRICS status to expand its influence in Europe, e.g. in the Balkans. But even Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who was personally invited to the BRICS summit by Putin, is reported shying away from attending and to only send a representative.

Admission of new members in Kazan unlikely

In any case, the integration of the four countries newly admitted since the beginning of 2024 (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates) does not appear to be progressing smoothly due to heterogeneous political and economic interests. In addition, Saudi Arabia is still considering officially joining BRICS and will only be represented in Kazan at foreign minister level. On behalf of the Russian Presidency, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on the fringes of the UN General Assembly in New York at the end of September that the task is to integrate the new members quickly and effectively into the BRICS structures. However, as this is difficult, he said that no further new members would be accepted at the Kazan summit, although more than 30 applications and/or expressions of interest had been submitted. Instead, a ‘partner status’ is to be established which - according to criteria to be defined in Kazan - will enable qualified countries to participate in the various BRICS formats, albeit without voting rights.

Aiming for greater independence from the dollar, but how?

The second important concern of the Russian presidency has been the promotion and development of alternative financial instruments and clearing systems in order to minimise dependence on Western currencies, particularly the dollar, as well as the SWIFT system and the associated sanction risks. The creation of a BRICS common currency has so far proven to be unrealistic due to the very different economic and financial structures and monetary interests of the individual BRICS members. Or as Jhanvi Tripathi, Observer Research Foundation, put it at a BRICS webinar organised by FNF South Asia: ‘BRICS is not even a single market yet.’

Instead, work is now primarily focussing on the creation of payment and settlement systems (BRICS Pay) for the use of national currencies. To this end, a BRICS Pay Consortium has been formed to develop solutions for private customers/retail (BRICS Pay QR), business customers (BRICS Pay B2B) and BRICS Clear (intergovernmental digital settlement system for cross-border securities transactions based on blockchain technology). Russia and the BRICS new member Iran, both of which are subject to strict sanctions by the West, have a strong interest in alternative payment and settlement systems that are not controlled by the West. In contrast, the other BRICS members, which have active trade relations with the West, are only interested in a certain degree of de-dollarisation and the introduction of settlement with national and digital currencies to a limited extent and only to the degree that it offers protection against sanctions and secondary sanctions and can facilitate the attraction of additional investments. Therefore, due to the different starting points and interests as well as the technical challenges, a long coordination and implementation process is to be expected here as well.

Broad summit agenda, but concrete resolutions unlikely

Other topics that the Russian Council Presidency has put on the summit agenda this year include

1. cooperation in the field of information security and the development of a code of ethics for the application of artificial intelligence
2. cooperation in the fight against corruption and capital flight, taxation and customs
3. cooperation for sustainable development; pursuit of an energy transition concept (from fossil to green energy) prioritising national economic interests over climate goals
4. establishment of a BRICS Medical Association to create an early warning system for infectious risks and epidemics.

Both the breadth and order of prioritisation as well as the very different views and approaches of the individual BRICS members in all of these areas indicate that the Kazan Summit will not adopt any directly implementable resolutions in this regard.


Conclusion
Overall, it can be expected that the summit in Kazan will essentially be an opportunity for Putin to present himself to the (BRICS) world as an international host, after his travelling radius has been limited to China, North Korea and Vietnam due to sanctions since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Even if new members are not yet expected to be admitted in Kazan (beyond the new category of ‘partner status’), the growing global interest in BRICS membership must be reason enough for the West to strategically monitor the further development of BRICS and to cooperate more closely with the ‘Global South’ politically and economically on its own initiative, especially with countries such as Brazil and India that are not fundamentally anti-Western in orientation, as set out in the latest FNF Policy Paper on BRICS enlargement.

Turkey
Source: www.aa.com.tr

BRICS countries stress urgent need for cease-fire in GazaKazan Declaration warns that further escalation in Gaza risks increasing tensions, extremism and ‘extremely harmful consequences’ at regional, global levels

The BRICS economic group on Wednesday adopted a joint declaration stressing the urgent need for a cease-fire in Gaza, as Israel continues its offensive on the besieged exclave, which over the last year has killed nearly 43,000 Palestinians and injured over 100,000 others.

“We stress the urgent need for an immediate comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and detainees from both sides who are being held illegally, and the unimpeded, sustained and large-scale flow of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, as well as an end to all aggressive actions,” said the Kazan Declaration, named after the Russian city hosting the group’s three-day summit.
Saying that BRICS countries reiterated their “grave concern” at the deteriorating situation and humanitarian crisis in occupied Palestinian territories due to Israel’s military operation, the declaration condemned Israeli attacks on “humanitarian operations, infrastructure, personnel and distribution points.”

The declaration, published by the Kremlin, called for the full implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and welcomed efforts by Egypt and Qatar, as well as other regional and international efforts, to achieve an immediate cease-fire and accelerate humanitarian aid.

“We also express our alarm that further escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip risks increasing tensions, extremism and extremely harmful consequences at the regional and global levels,” the declaration also said, further calling on all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint and avoid “escalatory actions and provocative statements.”
The declaration went on to note the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in the proceedings initiated by South Africa against Israel.

It added that BRICS reaffirms its support for Palestine’s admission as a full UN member “in the context of our unwavering commitment to the two-state solution, based on international law.”​​​​​​​

The BRICS summit includes longtime members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – the source of the group’s name – along with recent additions Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived today to attend the summit as a guest.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 43,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

USA
Source: www.cbsnews.com

Kazan, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday presided at the closing session of a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, praising its role as a counterbalance to what he called the West's "perverse methods." The three-day summit in the city of Kazan covered the deepening of financial cooperation, including the development of alternatives to Western-dominated payment systems, efforts to settle regional conflicts and expansion of the BRICS group of nations.

The alliance that initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa when it was founded in 2009 has expanded to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and several other countries have expressed interest in joining.
The summit was attended by leaders or representatives of 36 countries, highlighting the failure of U.S.-led efforts to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine. The Kremlin touted the summit as "the largest foreign policy event ever held" by Russia.

Speaking at what was dubbed the "BRICS Plus" session, which included countries that are considering joining the bloc, Putin 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 ordered the full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine more than two years ago, and Russian forces now occupy an estimated 20% of the country. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the war, which Putin has claimed at various stages was either a response to NATO's eastward expansion, or a defense of pro-Russian populations in eastern Ukraine.

Support from the U.S. and its NATO allies has helped Ukraine prevent Russia's complete takeover, but many in the region fear the November U.S. presidential election could bring a second term for former President Donald Trump, who's seen as more sympathetic to Putin and less likely to maintain current levels of support for Kyiv.

Russia has specifically pushed for the creation of a new payment system that would offer an alternative to the global bank messaging network SWIFT, which would enable Moscow to dodge Western sanctions and trade with its partners — some of which are also heavily sanctioned by the U.S. and its allies — more easily.

In a joint declaration Wednesday, participants voiced concern about "the disruptive effect of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions," and reiterated their commitment to enhancing financial cooperation within BRICS. They noted the benefits of "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 emphasized 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 for it. 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.

Putin and Xi had announced a "no-limits" partnership weeks before Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. Moscow declared its intention at the time to forge a new "democratic world order" with China. Putin and Xi met again twice earlier this year, in Beijing in May and at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan in July.
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.

Putin, who held a series of bilateral meetings on the summit's sidelines, was set to meet Thursday with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is making his first visit to Russia in more than two years. Guterres's trip to Kazan drew an angry reaction from Kyiv.

Addressing the BRICS Plus session, Guterres urged an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan. "We need peace in Ukraine, a just peace in line with the U.N. 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 U.S., Washington, Brussels, London ended up isolating themselves," said Yevgeny Popov, host of a popular political talk show on state channel Rossiya 1.

United Kingdom
Source: theconversation.com

The recent Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan was less notable for what happened at the meeting than for what happened before, on the margins, or not at all. Among the notable things that did not happen was another expansion of the organisation.

Since the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the 2023 Brics summit in Johannesburg, which almost doubled the number of member countries from the original five (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), further enlargement has stalled.

Argentina, which was also invited in 2023, declined to join. Saudi Arabia, another 2023 invitee, has not acted on the offer to become a member either. Its de-facto ruler, crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, was among the notable absentees in Kazan.

And Kazakhstan, Russia’s largest neighbour in Central Asia, decided not to join shortly before the summit. This drew Russia’s ire, resulting in a prompt ban on imports of a range of agricultural products from Kazakhstan in retaliation.

While invitees have declined the opportunity to join Brics, a long list of applicants have not been offered membership. According to a statement by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, at a meeting of senior Brics security officials in September, 34 countries have expressed an interest in closer relations with Brics in some form.

This appears to be a substantial increase in interest in Brics membership compared to a year ago, when South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, listed 23 applicants ahead of the 2023 summit.

But the fact that, since then, only six invitations have been extended – and four accepted – indicates that formal enlargement of the organisation, at least for now, has been stymied by the inability of current members to forge consensus over the next round of expansion and the reluctance on the part of some invitees to be associated with the organisation.

Meetings on the margins

The summit declaration may offer little of substance. But there were a number of bilateral meetings before and in the margins of the gathering that are more indicative of the direction of Brics. Perhaps most importantly, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and China’s president, Xi Jinping, held their first face-to-face discussion in five years.
This is a remarkable change from just a few months ago, when tensions between New Delhi and Beijing were intense enough for Modi to cancel his participation in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Astana, Kazakhstan. Yet, with a deal now reached over their countries’ longstanding border dispute, the two most populous and, in terms of GDP, economically most powerful members of Brics have an opportunity to rebuild their fraught relations.

A warming of relations between China and India could generate more momentum for Brics to deliver on its ambitious agenda to develop, and ultimately implement, a vision for a new global order. Implicit in this would be a shift of leadership in Brics from China and Russia to China and India, and with it, potentially a change from an anti-western to a non-western agenda.

This is, of course, something that exercises Putin. He acknowledged as much when he referred to the global south and global east in his remarks at the summit’s opening meeting. He also emphasised that it was important “to maintain balance and ensure that the effectiveness of Brics mechanisms is not diminished”.

In his own bilateral meetings before and during the summit, Putin drove home the point that, despite western efforts, Russia was far from isolated on the world stage. One-to-one meetings with Xi, Modi, South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and the president of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, gave Putin the chance to push his own vision of Brics as a counterpoint to the US-led west.

This may be a view shared in the global east – Russia, China and Iran, as well as non-Brics members North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela. But many in the global south – particularly India and Brazil – are unlikely to go all in with this agenda. They will focus on benefiting from their Brics membership as much as possible while maintaining close ties with the west.

Lacking a coherent agenda

India is the most significant player in Brics when it comes to balancing between east and west. Nato member Turkey is the equivalent on the outside. The country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, travelled to Kazan and did not shy away from an hour-long meeting with his “dear friend” Putin.

The relationship between Moscow and Ankara is fractious and complex across a wide range of crises from the South Caucasus, to Syria, Libya and Sudan. Yet, on perhaps the most divisive issue of all, Russian aggression towards Ukraine, Turkey has consistently maintained opened channels of communication with Russia and remains the only Nato power able to do so.

The fact that there has been relatively little public pressure from official sources in the west on Erdoğan to stop is probably a reflection that such communication channels are still valued in the west. This, and Nato’s continued cooperation with India, point to a hedging strategy by the west. India cooperates with the US, Australia and Japan – the so-called Quad group of nations – on security in the Indo-Pacific, and it has maintained political dialogue with Nato since 2019.

Turkey and India may not see eye-to-eye with the west on all issues. But neither do they with the global east camp inside Brics, and especially not with Russia. If nothing else, this limits the ability of Brics to forge a coherent agenda, deepen integration and ultimately mount a credible challenge to the existing order.

Relying on India and Turkey to do the west’s bidding in undermining Brics, however, is not a credible long-term strategy. Brics may have achieved little as an organisation, but the Kazan summit declaration indicates that its key players continue to harbour aspirations for more.

However, as the flailing expansion drive of the organisation indicates, there is also an internal battle in Brics over its future direction. This, in turn, creates space and time for the west to exercise more positive and constructive influence in the ongoing process of reshaping the international order.

The global east may be beyond redemption, but there is still a massive opportunity to reengage with the global south.

USA
Source: cnn.com

Nearly three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw Moscow condemned by countries globally, leader Vladimir Putin is staging a summit with more than a dozen world leaders – in a pointed signal from the autocrat that far from being alone, an emerging coalition of countries stands behind him.

The three-day BRICS summit, which started Tuesday in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan, is the first meeting of the group of major emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa since it expanded earlier this year to include Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Iran.

Putin met with China’s Xi Jinping at the summit on Tuesday, and claimed afterwards that their countries’ partnership was a “model of how relations between states should be built.”

Other leaders attending include India’s Narendra Modi, Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa. Some from outside the club, like Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are also expected to join. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva canceled plans to attend after suffering an injury at home.

Set to be by far the largest international gathering the Russian president has hosted since the start of the war in February 2022, the gathering of BRICS and other countries this week spotlights a growing convergence of nations who hope to see a shift in the global balance of power and – in the case of some, like Moscow, Beijing and Tehran – directly counter the United States-led West.

It’s this latter message that Putin – and close partner and most powerful BRICS country leader Xi – will project in the coming days: it’s the West that stands isolated in the world with its sanctions and alliances, while a “global majority” of countries support their bid to challenge American global leadership.

In remarks to reporters Friday, Putin hailed the growing economic and political clout of BRICS countries as an “undeniable fact” and said that if BRICS and interested countries work together, they “will be a substantial element of the new world order” – though he denied the group was an “anti-Western alliance.”

Putin’s messaging this week will be all the more poignant as the meeting comes just days ahead of the US elections, where a potential victory for former President Donald Trump could see the US shift its staunch support of Ukraine and strain Washington’s ties with its traditional allies more broadly.

“This BRICS summit is really a gift (for Putin),” said Alex Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin. “The message will be: how can you talk about Russia’s global isolation when (all these) leaders … are coming to Kazan.”
Russia wants to portray BRICS “as the spearhead, the new organization that leads us all as a global community to a more just order,” Gabuev said.

But despite Russia’s sweeping rhetoric, the leaders meeting in Kazan have a wide range of viewpoints and interests – a reality of BRICS that observers say limits their ability to send a unified message – especially the kind Putin may desire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, then-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose as they arrive for the BRICS summit in Brasilia in November 2019.

The Russian-hosted gathering poses a sharp contrast to last year’s BRICS summit in Johannesburg, when Putin participated from the other side of a video screen – unable to attend in person due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes over Ukraine.

This year, the Russian president is at the helm of the first summit since the organization nearly doubled in size – and the gathering is playing out before a very different global landscape.

While BRICS is primarily geared toward economic collaboration, its meeting last year took place in the shadow of the war in Ukraine. Now, even as that war rages on, the expanding conflict in the Middle East, where Israel is fighting Iran’s proxies, is also likely to dominate leaders’ conversations.

Putin last week confirmed that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas would join the event. The Russian leader and his officials will likely use the conflict – and the anger across the Global South toward the US and its support for Israel – to press his argument for a new world order without the US at the helm, observers say.

China and Russia have both called for a ceasefire in the spiraling conflict and criticized Israel’s actions, while the US has endorsed Israel’s right to retaliate against militant groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Many attending the summit see the conflict in the Middle East “as a prime example of why this particular grouping of countries should have more influence,” said Jonathan Fulton, an Abu Dhabi-based senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. However, he said, countries are “using it mostly as a rhetorical point to criticize things they don’t like,” rather than showing interest in leading its resolution.

Observers will also be watching whether China and Brazil use the gathering as a platform to play up their joint six-point peace proposal on the war in Ukraine, as they did at last month’s meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Then, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the effort, saying such plans would help Moscow, while warning Beijing and Brasilia: “you will not boost your power at Ukraine’s expense.”

Zelensky’s own challenges presenting his “victory plan” to end the war and the impending US elections mean China now has “a tremendous opportunity to beat the drum of its own format (on Ukraine) without sparing too much leverage,” according to Gabuev in Berlin.

The gathering in Kazan also gives Putin ample opportunity for one-on-one facetime with his fellow BRICS leaders and other friendly dignitaries in attendance.

The recent inclusion in BRICS of Iran – which CNN has reported has provided Russia with hundreds of drones, as well as short-range ballistic missiles (a transfer Iran denies) – brings a close Russian partner even further into Moscow’s fold. China has also been accused by the US and its allies of powering Russia’s war effort through its provision of dual-used goods like machine tools and microelectronics – a role Beijing also denies as it defends its “normal trade” with Russia and “neutrality” on the war.

Identity crisis

Leaders over the next few days are expected to discuss how to advance on-going efforts to settle payments outside the US dollar-denominated system using BRICS currencies and banking networks, a system that could have economic benefits, but also helps member countries like Russia circumnavigate Western sanctions. The countries are also likely to look for ways to boost economic, technological and financial cooperation across a range of areas from energy to sharing satellite data.

At the same time, however, they’ll be grappling with the divisions and differing agendas between countries within the group, which observers say limit how much BRICS can achieve.

That’s nothing new for the group, which held its first summit of Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009 as a convergence of key emerging markets before expanding the following year to include South Africa. In 2015, BRICS launched its New Development Bank, seen as an alternative or supplement to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Loosely united by a shared interest in reforming the international system to ensure their voices were better represented, BRICS from its start has incorporated countries with deep differences in political and economic systems – as well as other frictions.

India and China, for example, have a long-simmering border conflict, but make up two key pillars of the club. Their divisions have become even more prominent in recent years as China-US have become increasingly fraught, while India and the US have become closer partners.

Today, even as BRICS has again expanded – and the Kremlin says more than 30 additional countries are interested in joining or cooperating with it – deepening geopolitical fault lines further complicate BRICS’ identity and direction, observers say.

“(China and Russia have) essentially tried to shift the group from the sense of (BRICS) being emerging economies to potentially being some sort of an expression of angst with regard to Western dominance,” said Manoj Kewalramani, who heads Indo-Pacific studies at the Takshashila Institution research center in the Indian city of Bangalore.
And new or aspiring members may not be wanting to choose between this vision or the West. Instead, they are looking to grow their economies and “engage non-ideologically and pragmatically,” he said.

United States
Source: apnews.com

KAZAN, Russia (AP) — China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and other world leaders arrived Tuesday in the Russian city of Kazan for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies that the Kremlin hopes to turn into a rallying point for defying Western influence in global affairs.

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

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov called it “the largest foreign policy event ever held” by Russia, with 36 countries attending and more than 20 of them represented by heads of state.

The alliance that initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has expanded rapidly to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and a few others have expressed interest in joining.

Observers see the BRICS summit as part of the Kremlin’s efforts to showcase support from the Global South amid spiraling tensions with the West while expanding economic and financial ties.

Proposed projects include the creation of a new payment system that would offer an alternative to the global bank messaging network SWIFT and allow Moscow to dodge Western sanctions and trade with partners.

Putin, who will hold about 20 bilateral meetings on the sidelines, conferred with Xi, Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday ahead of the summit’s opening.

Xi and Putin announced a “no-limits” partnership weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. They already met twice this year, in Beijing in May and at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan in July.

Welcoming Xi, Putin described the relations between Moscow and Beijing as “one of the main stabilizing factors on the world arena.” He vowed to “expand coordination on all multilateral forums for the sake of global stability and a fair world order.”

“Amid tectonic transformations unseen for centuries, the international situation is undergoing serious changes and upheavals,” Xi said, hailing the “unprecedented character” of Russia-China ties.

Russia’s cooperation with India has also flourished. New Delhi considers Moscow a time-tested partner since Cold War times despite Russia’s close ties with India’s main rival, China.

Western allies want India to be more active in persuading Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, but Modi has avoided condemning Russia while emphasizing a peaceful settlement.

“We fully support the quickest establishment of peace and stability,” said Modi, who last visited Russia in July.

Putin hailed what he described as a “privileged strategic partnership” between Russia and India.

During a meeting with Ramaphosa, the Russian president emphasized their shared striving for a “fair, multi-polar global order” and specifically mentioned efforts by BRICS members to create a ”new independent payment system.”

After a dinner for the delegations, Putin met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who praised the “dynamic development” of Moscow-Cairo relations in recent years.

On Thursday, Putin is also set to meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will be making his first visit to Russia in more than two years. Guterres has repeatedly criticized Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Belgium
Source: news.un.org

Their meeting took place on Thursday, in Kazan, Russia, the venue for the 16th BRICS Summit. In a post on social media platform X, Mr. Guterres wrote on Friday that during the meeting, he had emphasized to President Putin the illegality of the Russian invasion. “I reiterated the points I made in the Summit session,” Mr. Guterres said.

The BRICS group was founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2006 – with South Africa joining in 2010 – and has since expanded to a bloc of nations which collectively represents nearly half of the world’s population.

Addressing the Summit on Thursday, the Secretary-General highlighted the need for peace in Ukraine, “a just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions.”

He also emphasized the importance of upholding everywhere the values of the UN Charter, the rule of law, and the principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of States.

In his meeting with Mr. Putin, Secretary-General Guterres also expressed his strong support for the establishment of an agreement for safe navigation in the Black Sea, which an essential avenue for global food security.

“The Secretary-General expressed his belief that establishing freedom of navigation in the Black Sea is of paramount importance for Ukraine, the Russian Federation and for the world’s food and energy security,” according to a readout of the meeting issued by the Mr. Guterres’ spokesperson.

“He fully supports the continuation of negotiations in this regard and expresses his deep appreciation for the work being done by Türkiye,” the readout added.

Transport of agricultural goods, in particular grain from Ukraine and other ports on the Black Sea, as well as fertilizers have been severely affected since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, jeopardizing food security and skyrocketing prices globally.

Brokered by the UN and Türkiye in July 2022, the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the subsequent parallel accord between UN and Russia were crucial in restoring trade in the vital commodities.

The Initiative was not renewed after its third term, which expired on 17 July 2023, impacting again the trade route.
At a news briefing in New York on Friday, a UN spokesperson addressed questions about Secretary-General António Guterres’ meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite an active International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against the Russian leader.

UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said that any engagement between UN officials and individuals under indictment is based strictly on operational necessity.

“There are very clear operational issues that we have to deal with,” Mr. Haq explained, referring to the readout from the meeting and noted concerns about the war in Ukraine and safe navigation in the Black Sea.

“These are all reasons for having a meeting such as this, again, under strict conditions in terms of dealing with operational matters, while you have to deal with indicted personnel.”

United Kingdom
Source: www.bbc.com

Imagine you're Vladimir Putin.

The West has dubbed you a pariah for invading Ukraine. Sanctions are aiming to cut off your country's economy from global markets.

And there's an arrest warrant out for you from the International Criminal Court.

How can you show the pressure is not working? Try hosting a summit.

This week in the city of Kazan President Putin will greet more than 20 heads of state at the Brics summit of emerging economies. Among the leaders invited are China’s Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Kremlin has called it one of the "largest-scale foreign policy events ever" in Russia.

"The clear message is that attempts to isolate Russia have failed," thinks Chris Weafer, founding partner of consultancy firm Macro-Advisory.

"It's a big part of the messaging from the Kremlin that Russia is withstanding sanctions. We know there are severe cracks beneath the surface. But at a geopolitical level Russia has all these friends and they’re all going to be Russia's partners."

So, who are Russia's friends?

Brics stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The grouping, often referred to as a counterweight to the Western-led world, has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia, too, has been invited to join.

The Brics nations account for 45% of the global population. Added together, members' economies are worth more than $28.5tn (£22tn). That's around 28% of the global economy.

Russian officials have indicated that another 30 countries want to join Brics or seek closer ties with the club. Some of these nations will take part in the summit. In Kazan this week expect a lot of talk about Brics representing the "global majority".

But apart from providing Vladimir Putin his moment on the geopolitical stage, what is the event likely to achieve?
Keen to ease the pressure from Western sanctions, the Kremlin leader will hope to convince Brics members to adopt an alternative to the dollar for global payments.

"A lot of the problems Russia's economy is facing are linked to cross-border trade and payments. And a lot of that is linked to the US dollar," says Mr Weafer.

"The US Treasury has enormous power and influence over global trade simply because the US dollar is the main currency for settling that. Russia's main interest is in breaking the dominance of the US dollar. It wants Brics countries to create an alternative trade mechanism and cross-border settlement system that does not involve the dollar, the euro or any of the G7 currencies, so that sanctions won't matter so much."

But critics point to differences within Brics. "Likeminded" is not a word you would use to describe the current membership.

"In some ways it’s a good job for the West that China and India can never agree about anything. Because if those two were really serious, Brics would have enormous influence," notes Jim O'Neill, former Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs.

"China and India are doing their best to avoid wanting to attack each other a lot of the time. Trying to get them to really co-operate on economic things is a never-ending challenge."

It was Mr O’Neill who, at the turn of the century, dreamt up the acronym "Bric" for four emerging economies he believed should be "brought into the centre of global policy making".

But the four letters would take on a life of their own, after the corresponding nations formed their own Bric group - later Brics, when South Africa joined. They would attempt to challenge the dominance of the G7: the world's seven largest "advanced" economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US).

It's not just India and China who have their differences. There is tension between two of the newest Brics members, Egypt and Ethiopia. And, despite talk of detente, Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been regional rivals.

"The idea that they’re all going to fundamentally agree on something of great substance is bonkers really," believes Mr O’Neill.

And while Russia, fuelled by anti-Western sentiment, talks about creating a "new world order", other Brics members, like India, are keen to retain good political and economic relations with the West.

In Kazan, Vladimir Putin's task will be to skim over the differences and paint a picture of unity, while showing the Russian public – and the international community – that his country is far from isolated.

China
Source: www.globaltimes.cn

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on "BRICS Plus" countries to strive for common security, common development and harmony among civilizations.

Xi made the remarks while addressing the "BRICS Plus" leaders' dialogue.

Noting that the collective rise of the Global South is a distinctive feature of the great transformation across the world, Xi said that Global South countries marching together toward modernization is monumental in world history and unprecedented in human civilization.

Meanwhile, peace and development still faces severe challenges and the road to prosperity for the Global South will not be straight, he pointed out, urging "BRICS Plus" countries to use collective wisdom and strength and stand up to their responsibility for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi said that "BRICS Plus" countries should uphold peace and strive for common security, come forward together to form a stabilizing force for peace, strengthen global security governance, and explore solutions to address both symptoms and roots of hotspot issues.

"BRICS Plus" cooperation has accelerated the transformation and improvement of the existing world order by providing multiple alternatives. The expansion of BRICS will, in fact, contribute to the cohesion of consensus among the Global South amid a complicated international background, said Chinese experts.

President Xi has chaired or attended the BRICS summits for 12 years running, promoted the establishment of the New Development Bank, and put forward the "BRICS Plus" cooperation format and a good number of important proposals and initiatives, giving a strong boost to BRICS cooperation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.

Through this summit, China stands ready to work with other BRICS countries to open a new horizon in the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation, and make BRICS' contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind, Lin said.

BRICS leaders issued a joint declaration covering a wide range of issues from the reform of the United Nations (UN) to ongoing global conflicts, following the association's summit that took place on Wednesday in Kazan.

New centers of power, policy decision-making and economic growth are emerging in the world, BRICS countries said Wednesday in the Kazan Declaration.

The BRICS countries also called for the reform of the Bretton Woods system to enhance the representation of emerging markets and developing countries in the Kazan Declaration, according to Xinhua.

In the process of the collective rise of the Global South, the BRICS Plus countries have played a role in introducing alternatives to the tools that maintain the West-dominated international order, Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Many developing countries are worried about what is happening around the world, be the economic or security problems, that's why they came here to Kazan for the summit, that's why Global South countries want to follow BRICS, Lidia Zhelamkova, a Russian journalist, told the Global Times.

BRICS Plus has played a very important role in promoting consensus among the Global South and has positively contributed to its economic development, Song Wei, a professor from the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

Reaching consensus

In recent years, there have also been doubts as to whether further BRICS expansion would affect the organization's unity and the process of reaching a consensus. Al Jazeera published an opinion piece last year saying that taking in more members too quickly could leave BRICS incoherent, weakening rather than strengthening the bloc.

Shadrack Andile, a reporter from BRICS Africa Channel, said that the essence of pushing forward cooperation between BRICS and Global South countries is for countries to reach consensus, and that the new members will not dilute its unity. "Bringing more countries into BRICS means leaving no one behind. It's not about competing; it's about collaborating for a better world."

BRICS has sent a clear message that the status quo in global governance is no longer acceptable to the majority of the world's population. The persistent economic and political disparities will become increasingly untenable, driving more countries to seek alternative alliances. The success of BRICS initiatives, such as the New Development Bank, is solidifying the appeal of the BRICS model, Ahmed Moustafa, director of the Asia Center for Studies and Translation in Egypt, told the Global Times.

In the foreseeable future, the BRICS mechanism will evolve into a formidable force, influencing the decisions of established global institutions. The growing membership and influence of BRICS will send a powerful message that the future of global governance lies in collaborative, inclusive and equitable models, said Moustafa.

Singapore
Source: thediplomat.com

Indonesia has expressed its desire to join the BRICS group of major emerging economies, in a bid to bolster the domestic economic agenda of President Prabowo Subianto.

In a statement issued last night from Kazan, Russia, where BRICS is holding its annual summit, newly appointed Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono announced that Indonesia planned to seek full membership.

“Indonesia joining BRICS embodies the country’s active and free foreign policy,” Sugiono said in the statement, according to a report in the Jakarta Globe. “It does not mean that we are joining a certain camp, but we actively participate in all forums.”

The announcement is the first major foreign policy initiative of Prabowo Subianto, who was sworn into office on October 20, and has promised to pursue a “good neighbor policy.”

The BRICS membership announcement, which comes a year after President Joko Widodo decided not to pursue membership after last year’s BRICS summit in Johannesburg, is the first manifestation of the omnidirectional “good neighbor” foreign policy that Prabowo has pledged to pursue. During his inauguration speech on October 20, the new leader said that his administration “will adopt the old philosophy of ‘having a thousand friends is too few, one enemy is too many’.”

He added, “We wish to be good friends with all countries, but we will embrace the principle of anti-colonialism. … We are against oppression because we have been oppressed before.”

In his statement yesterday, Sugiono said that BRICS priorities align with the main priorities of the Prabowo administration, including “food and energy security, poverty eradication, as well as human capital development.”
The BRICS grouping, named after its core members – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – is currently in an expansionary phase, having admitted Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this year.

The Indonesian announcement came a day after Indonesia and three Southeast Asian neighbors – Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand – became partner countries of BRICS, in a possible step toward full membership. The four Southeast Asian nations were among 13 nations that joined yesterday as partner countries, the others being Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Turkey, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. The economies of the current BRICS member states collectively make up about 28 percent of the global economy.

Earlier this year, both Malaysia and Thailand announced that they had formally applied for BRICS membership. Addressing the BRICS Summit yesterday, Malaysia’s Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said that the country’s application was “centered on building economic partnerships, strengthening trade ties, and expanding our growth potential.” Back in May, Thai government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said that BRICS membership would “benefit Thailand in many dimensions, including enhancing the country’s role in the international arena and increasing its opportunities to co-create a new world order,” according to the Bangkok Post.

While Vietnam has not yet officially applied for full membership in BRICS, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said today on its online portal that his country “stands ready to work with BRICS countries and the international community to realize the idea of working together to build a better world for all.”

Many Western observers are skeptical about the viability and cohesion of BRICS as an international grouping, and are unconvinced that new members will benefit in any real way from membership. But seen against a backdrop of growing geopolitical tensions, particularly between China and Russia on the one hand, and the United States and its allies on the other, joining the new grouping makes a certain degree of sense.

Given that Thailand and Indonesia have also applied to join the OECD, and that all four nations have more or less productive economic, political, and security relationships with the United States and its principal partners, their desire for BRICS membership is perhaps best seen as a means of navigating the increasingly turbulent international waters and signaling their non-alignment between the two emergent geoeconomic blocs. If they benefit economically in some way from membership, so much the better.

In a recent article for Foreign Policy, Sarang Shidore, the director of the Quincy Institute’s Global South Program, argued that the Thai and Malaysian bids to join BRICS were a way of “signaling continued dissatisfaction with the U.S.-led global order,” and an attempt “to proactively hedge in a world in which U.S. relative power is slowly eroding and the future of the global order is highly uncertain.” Instead of “choosing” between competing geoeconomic blocs, Indonesia and its neighbors seem intent on planting one foot in both camps.

France
Source: www.lemonde.fr


The Russian president is hosting the BRICS countries in Kazan, his alternative to the upcoming November G20 summit in Brazil. He has hosted an economic forum in Moscow the week before.

Despite Western efforts to isolate it, Russia has no shortage of allies. This is the message that President Vladimir Putin wants to send to "the collective West" as he hosts a major summit of the BRICS – nine countries determined to strengthen the assertiveness of the Global South – from October 22 to 24 in Kazan, the multi-ethnic Russian city on the banks of the Volga.

Putin, who will not be attending the G20 summit in Brazil on November 18 and 19 "so as not to disrupt" it, is holding his own alternative: the BRICS summit. The five founding members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – have been joined by Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Since its expansion at the Johannesburg summit in August 2023, the group's appeal has been unprecedented, and its momentum is growing. Thirty countries have since applied for membership, including Thailand and Malaysia, paving the way for a future opening toward Southeast Asia. There have also been membership applications from Turkey, Azerbaijan and Cuba, among many others. "The doors are open, we're not excluding anyone," declared Putin at an economic forum in Moscow on Friday, October 18.

Twenty-four foreign leaders, including China's Xi Jinping, Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and India's Narendra Modi, as well as UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, are expected in Kazan, the secular capital of Tatarstan. Presented as a haven of tolerance, the multi-faith city of Orthodox churches and mosques has given its civil servants the day off, as well as limiting alcohol sales and barring access to the city center.

Saudi Arabia, which has never confirmed it's a member of the BRICS despite receiving an invitation in 2023, will be represented by its foreign minister rather than the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has won't attend for health reasons.

USA
Source: jamestown.org

Executive Summary:

• Just days before the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Kazakhstan announced that it will likely not consider applying to join the group in the foreseeable future, citing the complexity of gaining membership and the bloc’s future prospects.
• China and Russia, two key pillars of BRICS, have explicitly supported Kazakhstan’s potential bid, which some believe will convince Kazakhstan to change its stance in the future due to its strong ties with the two countries.
• Russia responded negatively to Kazakhstan’s announcement, establishing bans on Kazakh imports. Kazakhstan has denounced this move as baseless and amounting to a trade war, indicating that Kazakhstan is likely not as reliant on Russia as it was in the past.

On October 16, Kazakh Presidential Spokesperson Berik Uali announced that Kazakhstan will likely not consider applying for BRICS (a loose political-economic grouping originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in the foreseeable future. Uali noted that this decision was based on the complexity of gaining membership and “other aspects pertaining to the prospects of and the future of this bloc.” He also highlighted that Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sees the United Nations as the universal and “uncontested” organization where the most important international problems should be discussed in a manner befitting a just and fair world order, demonstrating that Tokayev perhaps views BRICS as infringing on that role (Tengrinews.kz, October 16).

Despite announcing that Kazakhstan will not be applying for membership, Tokayev is still attending the 16th BRICS summit on October 22–24 in Kazan, Russia. This grouping of countries has traditionally been associated with the growing importance of the non-Western world. According to Russian sources, the summit will be attended by 36 countries with 22 national leaders present. The most notable guests include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Lula da Silva. The event will also be attended by UN General Secretary António Guterres, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Zhang Ming, and Dilma Rousseff, the former Brazilian president who currently serves as the Chair of the New Development Bank (Vedomosti, October 22).
This year’s summit will be the first to include the bloc’s new members: Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia (RG.ru, October 15). Saudi Arabia, which has not formalized its membership, is sending its Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, while the de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, chose not to personally participate in the event (The Moscow Times, October 16). Despite the impressive list of guests and BRICS’s recent growth, Kazakhstan’s decision to refrain from applying for BRICS membership has arguably tainted the upcoming event. Kazakhstan’s decision to opt out of applying for membership appears particularly strange given the past year’s developments. For instance, in a speech on August 24, 2023, Tokayev praised BRICS, stating that “Kazakhstan would like to make its input in the development of BRICS as one of its members.” Mentioning that BRICS could become one of the platforms that ensure the promotion of global security and stability, Tokayev also called on the members of BRICS to join regional economic, trade, transportation, and investment projects such as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (aka the Middle Corridor) (TASS, August 24, 2023).

Prior to the upcoming summit, two key pillars of BRICS, Russia and China, explicitly supported Kazakhstan’s potential bid (Timesca.com, July 9; TASS, August 27). Despite this encouraging support, Kazakhstan still announced that it is unlikely to join the bloc in the near future. Moscow’s official response to this development was relatively parsimonious. Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s Presidential Press Secretary, stated that “Kazakhstan is [Russia’s] friend and a strategic partner, our ally, and we cherish our relations. Kazakhstan is absolutely free to make its own decisions about the format it wants to participate in various organizations” (Lenta.ru, October 16). Despite Peskov’s benevolent comments, Russia’s practical steps were far less friendly. Following Kazakhstan’s announcement, on October 17, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) announced a “temporary ban” on the import of tomatoes, pepper, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and lentils originating from Kazakhstan. The pretext, relatively common for Russia, is “phytosanitary concerns.” Rosselkhoznadzor cited 215 cases of phytosanitary regulation violations by Kazakhstan since the beginning of 2024, which is four times higher than the 2023 figure (Rosselkhoznadzor, October 17). Interestingly, this decision was merely a follow-up to a previously adopted restrictive measure before the current diplomatic row, when Russia essentially halted the transit and import of Kazakhstan-produced grain. Kazakh officials denounced this situation as amounting to nothing less than a trade war, calling Russia’s accusations “baseless” and disconnected from reality (T.me/moscowtimes_ru, October 3).

Kazakhstan’s decision to refrain from BRICS membership and the surrounding aggravation in bilateral trade and business ties should not have come as a surprise. Prior to these developments, Tokayev had openly expressed his discontent with internal developments in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a Russia-led international organization (see EDM, April 3). Specifically, the Kazakh President lamented that the EAEU is becoming increasingly divided, with Russia and Belarus forming a separate sub-bloc characterized by a much deeper level of political, military, and economic integration (The Moscow Times, October 17). Following the outbreak of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Kazakhstan has walked a very precarious line. Because it is strategically dependent on Russia in many areas, the country has maintained robust economic ties with its northern neighbor, which have boomed since 2022 (Eurasianet, March 4). While Kazakhstan has refused to introduce direct economic sanctions against Russia, it has still introduced the ban on 100 types of sanctions-related goods and export products and declared its commitment to respecting Western restrictions on Russian exports (Kommersant.ru, August 16).

In assessing Astana’s diplomatic move, Kazakh political experts have come up with diverging opinions. Political analyst Gaziz Abishev said, “Kazakhstan is still unlikely to become a member of BRICS. There is no vital need [for Kazakhstan] to do so. Kazakhstan is bound with Russia by close ties based on strategic partnership” (Lenta.ru, October 16). Andrey Chebotarev, an ethnically Russian Kazakh political scientist, suggested that Kazakhstan could still apply for membership during the upcoming summit. Noting that Russia’s—and more importantly, China’s—explicit support for Kazakhstan’s membership could become a “serious stimulus for the country to join the platform,” Chebotarev also theorized that later, Kazakhstan’s decision to join BRICS could be influenced by Türkiye’s and Azerbaijan’s determination to accede to the bloc (see EDM, October 16). Conversely, political analyst Marat Shibutov stated that he believes Kazakhstan will not join BRICS in the near future. He noted, “BRICS does not have functioning institutions. There are plenty of talks, but the actual work is not there” (Zakon.kz, October 16).

For now, Moscow—bogged down in Ukraine and needing Kazakhstan to alleviate the impact of sanctions—will likely abstain from imposing harsh coercive measures to press Astana to join BRICS. If Kazakhstan pursues more independent policies, refusing to import Russian oil and uranium or excluding theRussian Nuclear Energy Corporation, Rosatom, from the construction of Kazakhstan’s first-ever nuclear power plant, Russia’s approach may become much harsher.

USA
Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting several world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi, in Russia this week for the annual BRICS summit, a gathering of countries that Moscow is capitalizing on to bolster its image and rail against Western power.

The summit in Kazan, about 450 miles east of Moscow, comes as Russia continues its war in Ukraine, more than two and a half years after it invaded the country and sparked international outrage, and as experts say the United States’ reputation is flagging in much of the Global South over its support of Israel’s war in Gaza. BRICS, which represents countries containing nearly half the world’s population, has been described by some as a potential rival to U.S. global dominance.

Here’s what to know.

What to know

• What is BRICS?
• Which countries are in BRICS?
• Who will be attending this year’s BRICS summit?
• Why is the BRICs summit important to Putin?
• Are there differences inside the summit?

What is BRICS?

BRICS stands, in part, for Brazil, Russia, India and China — the original members of the group, which had its first official summit in 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. South Africa was invited to join the following year, adding the “S” to the acronym.

The term dates back to a 2001 research paper by Jim O’Neill, then-head of Global Economic Research at Goldman Sachs, which looked at the four rapidly growing economies as “key drivers of future global economic growth,” per a statement from the financial institution.

In the paper, O’Neill predicted that, over the next 10 years, BRIC countries, especially China, would grow to represent a larger proportion of world GDP and advised that world policymaking forums be reorganized to incorporate their representatives.

But according to O’Neill in a recent opinion piece, BRICS has since achieved little other than to annually decry its members’ lack of representation in global institutions.

“Meanwhile, the BRICS have done nothing to effect meaningful organizational or structural change within international institutions,” he wrote, contending that Russia’s war on Ukraine coupled with the rise of nationalistic leaders within BRICS and elsewhere meant that “international institutions have been rendered even less effective.”

Which countries are in BRICS?

In addition to its five longtime members, BRICS now also includes Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. This week’s summit is the first since the bloc’s expansion, which Xi hailed last year as a “historic” moment that marked a “new starting point for BRICS cooperation.”

Moscow has seized on the expansion of BRICS as a sign of its growing power, but the risks of joining a group that increasingly appears to spearhead Chinese and Russian ambitions to end American global dominance may deter some nations. Kazakhstan said it would refrain from joining, local media reported. Indonesia and Algeria have stated they would not be joining any time soon. Argentina also declined its invitation. Saudi Arabia participates in BRICS events but has yet to formalize its membership.

Up to 30 countries have expressed interest in joining, according to Putin. Among them is Turkey, which applied for membership, the Kremlin announced in September, and would be the first NATO member to join.

The Kremlin has announced that the BRICS summit would discuss a formula for second-tier “partners” to become full-fledged members. Thirteen new potential members have been approved, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.

Who will be attending this year’s BRICS summit?

Of 38 countries invited to the summit, 24 will send their leaders, and 32 are expected to participate in total, The Washington Post reported. Leaders from most member states are attending, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva canceled his trip to the summit after an accident, so Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will represent Brazil instead.

Several leaders of countries outside BRICS are also in Kazan, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

U.N. Secretary General António Guterres will attend, too, the U.N. said Tuesday, a move that drew criticism from Ukraine.

Why is the BRICs summit important to Putin?

The summit is an opportunity for Putin to show that he is not isolated after his invasion of Ukraine, despite Western sanctions, and to showcase BRICS as a counterpoint to U.S. global power. Alexander Gabuev, analyst at the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center think tank, told The Post that Moscow is seeking to spread a narrative that “Russia is far from isolated” and “at home with the global majority.”

It marks a notable shift in optics from last year, when Putin could not travel to the BRICS summit because of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, which would have obliged the host country, South Africa, to arrest him.

Are there differences inside the summit?

While BRICS has appeal to many Global South countries, not all members are on board with Russia’s anti-Western agenda. Analysts, speaking to The Post, suggested that China, Russia and Iran are pushing that course, but countries like Brazil, India and South Africa seek a neutral approach.

During a news conference Monday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby advised against looking at the summit “as some sort of coming-out party for Mr. Putin and for Russia” and said the United States does not view BRICS as threat.

“Russia is increasingly isolated on the world stage,” he added. “There’s no question about that.”

China
Source: english.www.gov.cn

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on BRICS countries to work for high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation.

Xi made the remarks when addressing the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired the summit, which was also attended by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva participated in the summit via video link.

During a small-group meeting, Xi welcomed new members to the BRICS family and invited many countries to become partner countries.

Xi pointed out that the enlargement of BRICS is a major milestone in its development history, and a landmark event in the evolution of the international situation. It is for their shared pursuit and for the overarching trend of peace and development that BRICS countries have come together, he said.

Stressing that the world is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, marked by new trends of multipolarity and the risks of a "new Cold War," Xi said BRICS countries should seize the historical opportunity, take proactive steps, remain committed to the original aspiration and mission of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, conform to the general trend of the rise of the Global South, seek common ground while reserving differences, work in concert to further consolidate common values, safeguard common interests, and strengthen BRICS countries through unity.
"We must work together to build BRICS into a primary channel for strengthening solidarity and cooperation among Global South nations and a vanguard for advancing global governance reform," Xi said.

He stressed that the more turbulent the world is, the more BRICS countries should uphold the banner of peace, development and win-win cooperation, refining the essence of BRICS and demonstrating its strength. BRICS countries should raise the voice of peace, advocating a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation and partnership over alliance.

Xi urged BRICS countries to jointly pursue a path of development, advocate a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and stay committed to the principle of common development. He said BRICS countries should consolidate the foundation of cooperation, deepen cooperation in traditional areas such as agriculture, energy, minerals, economy and trade, expand cooperation in emerging areas such as green, low-carbon and artificial intelligence, and safeguard trade, investment and financial security.

The Chinese president then attended a large-scale meeting, made important statements on BRICS' future development and put forward five suggestions.

"As the world enters a new period defined by turbulence and transformation, we are confronted with pivotal choices that will shape our future. Should we allow the world to descend into the abyss of disorder and chaos, or should we strive to steer it back on the path of peace and development?" Xi said.

He stressed that the more tumultuous our times become, the more firmly we must stand at the forefront, exhibiting tenacity, demonstrating the audacity to pioneer and displaying the wisdom to adapt, adding that China is willing to work with all BRICS countries to open a new horizon in the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation.
"We should build a BRICS committed to peace, and we must all act as defenders of common security," Xi said. Only by embracing the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security can we pave the way for universal security, he added.

Xi urged the BRICS countries to uphold the three key principles: no expansion of the battlefields, no escalation of hostilities, and no fanning flames, and strive for swift deescalation of the situation in Ukraine.

He also urged BRICS countries to promote an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and make unremitting efforts toward a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution of the Palestinian question.

"We should build a BRICS committed to innovation, and we must all act as pioneers of high-quality development," Xi said. "We must keep pace with the times and foster new quality productive forces."

Xi said China has recently launched a China-BRICS Artificial Intelligence Development and Cooperation Center, and will establish a BRICS Deep-Sea Resources International Research Center, a China Center for Cooperation on Development of Special Economic Zones in BRICS Countries, a China Center for BRICS Industrial Competencies, and a BRICS Digital Ecosystem Cooperation Network, welcoming active participation from all interested parties.

"We should build a BRICS committed to green development, and we must all act as promoters of sustainable development," Xi said.

He noted that China's high-quality production capacity, as exemplified by its electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products, provides a significant boost to global green development.

Xi said China is willing to expand cooperation with BRICS countries in green industries, clean energy and green mining, and promote green development through the entire industrial chain, so as to increase the "green quotient" of our cooperation and upgrade the quality of our development.

"We should build a BRICS committed to justice, and we must all act as forerunners in reforming global governance," Xi said.

He said the international power dynamics are undergoing profound changes, but global governance reform has lagged behind for a long time, urging BRICS countries to champion true multilateralism and adhere to the vision of global governance characterized by extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.

Xi said BRICS countries must ensure that global governance reform is guided by the principles of fairness, justice, openness and inclusiveness, and enhance the representation and voice of developing nations in global governance.
Xi said BRICS countries should promote the connectivity of financial infrastructure, apply high standards of financial security, and expand and strengthen the New Development Bank, ensuring that the international financial system more effectively reflects the changes in the global economic landscape.

"We should build a BRICS committed to closer people-to-people exchanges, and we must all act as advocates for harmonious coexistence among all civilizations," Xi said.

Stressing that it is important that BRICS countries promote the spirit of inclusiveness and harmonious coexistence among civilizations and enhance the exchange of governance experiences among BRICS countries, Xi said he is delighted to see that the initiative for BRICS digital education cooperation has become a reality, and China will implement a capacity-building program for BRICS digital education, open 10 learning centers in BRICS countries in the next five years, and provide training opportunities for 1,000 local education administrators, teachers and students.
China is willing to work with BRICS countries to open a new horizon in the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi concluded.
Under the theme of "Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security," the participating leaders exchanged in-depth views on BRICS cooperation and major international issues of common interest.

The leaders made positive comments on the development of BRICS institutions and the important role they have played in addressing global challenges, expressing the belief that BRICS countries, with their large population, rich resources, huge development potential, growing appeal and international influence, have become a model of multilateralism.

They called on BRICS countries to uphold the BRICS spirit, strengthen solidarity and coordination, deepen the strategic partnership within greater BRICS, enhance cooperation in politics and security, economy, trade and finance, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, promote an equal and orderly multipolar world, a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and sustainable development of the world, and further increase the voice and representation of the Global South in international affairs, and promote the building of a more just and equitable international order.
The leaders vowed to safeguard multilateralism, uphold the core role of the United Nations in the international system, and support the United Nations in playing an important role in global governance such as artificial intelligence.

They also expressed commitment to peacefully resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation, supporting all efforts conducive to a peaceful settlement of crisis, and respecting the legitimate security concerns of all countries.
The leaders agreed to promote reform of the existing international economic and financial architecture and build the New Development Bank into a new type of multilateral development bank for the 21st century.

They also commended the UN General Assembly for adopting relevant resolutions on the China-proposed International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, calling for respect for the diversity of world civilizations and strengthening exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations.

The Kazan Declaration of the 16th BRICS Summit was issued and the establishment of BRICS partners was announced at the summit.

During the summit, the BRICS leaders also heard reports on the work of President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff and other heads of BRICS institutions.

France
Source: www.france24.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday hailed his nation's "strategic partnership" with India in talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the opening day of a BRICS summit in Kazan. The summit brings together two dozen world leaders including China's Xi Jinping and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which is hoping to join the bloc.

Two dozen world leaders gathered in Russia on Tuesday for the opening of a three-day summit of the BRICS group, an alliance of emerging economies that the Kremlin hopes will challenge Western "hegemony".

With the summit, the biggest such meeting in Russia since it ordered troops into Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin is seeking to show Western attempts to isolate Moscow over the two-and-a-half-year offensive have failed.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – all key partners for Russia – are scheduled to join the gathering, hosted in the western city of Kazan from October 22 to 24.
Putin, Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have already arrived in Kazan, Russian media reported, while Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Xi had landed.

Moscow has made expanding the BRICS group – an acronym for core members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – a pillar of its foreign policy.

The main issues on the agenda include Putin's idea for a BRICS-led payment system to rival SWIFT, an international financial network that Russian banks were cut off from in 2022, as well as the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The Kremlin has touted the gathering as a diplomatic triumph that will help it build an alliance to challenge Western "hegemony".

Ahead of the meeting, Modi praised what he called the "special and privileged strategic partnership" between Moscow and New Delhi, and said issues including climate change would be on the agenda.

'Multipolar world'

The United States has dismissed the idea that BRICS could become a "geopolitical rival" but has expressed concern about Moscow flexing its diplomatic muscle as the Ukraine conflict rages.

Moscow has been steadily advancing on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine this year while strengthening its ties with China, Iran and North Korea – three of Washington's adversaries.

By gathering the BRICS group in Kazan, the Kremlin "aims to show that not only is Russia not isolated, it has partners and allies," Moscow-based political analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin in 2023 over the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine, and the Russian leader abandoned plans to attend the previous summit in ICC member South Africa.
This time round, the Kremlin wants to show an "alternative to Western pressure and that the multipolar world is a reality," Kalachev said, referring to Moscow's efforts to shift power away from the West to other regions.

Security

Putin is set to individually meet Modi and Xi as well as the leaders of South Africa and Egypt on Tuesday, followed by separate talks with Erdogan and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is also undertaking his first trip to Russia since April 2022 to attend the summit. He will sit down with Putin on Thursday, according to a programme shared by Ushakov.

Ahead of the summit, AFP journalists in the city reported heightened security measures and a visible police presence.
The surrounding Tatarstan region, which is some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the border with Ukraine, has previously been hit by long-range Ukrainian drone attacks.

Movement around the city centre is being limited, residents advised to stay home, and university students moved out of dormitories, local media reported.

Emboldened

The West believes Russia is using the BRICS group to expand its influence and promote its own narratives about the Ukraine conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned other countries could feel emboldened if Putin wins on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Starting with four members when it was established in 2009, BRICS has since expanded to include several other emerging nations such as South Africa, Egypt and Iran.

But the group is also rife with internal divisions, including between key members India and China.
Turkey, a NATO member with complex ties to both Moscow and the West, announced in early September that it also wanted to join the bloc.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva cancelled his planned trip to the summit at the last minute after suffering a head injury that caused a minor brain haemorrhage.

United Kingdom
Source: www.theguardian.com

Vladimir Putin, ostracised by the west and labelled a possible war criminal by the international criminal court, has played host to 36 world leaders from nations including China, India and Iran as part of a summit of the Brics group designed to display Moscow as anything but isolated.

One of the main aims of the summit will be to speed up ways to reduce the number of dollar transactions, and so mitigate the US ability to use the threat of sanctions to seek to impose its political will.

The spokesperson for the UN secretary general confirmed António Guterres would attend the summit as he did last year. His decision infuriated many in the west, including the Ukrainian foreign ministry, since the international criminal court issued warrants for Putin’s arrest in March 2023 over the abduction of children. The UN said Guterres would repeat his view that the invasion of Ukraine is in breach of the UN charter.

Moscow said the representatives from 36 countries were attending parts of the three-day meeting, making it the largest international gathering hosted by Putin since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia is this year’s chair of the group.

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, greeted Putin in Kazan as his dear friend, praising the “profound” friendship between the two countries. He said: “The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is chaotic and intertwined.”

China-Russia ties have “injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries,” the Chinese leader said.

Putin said he wanted to strengthen ties with China to bring greater global stability. “We intend to further increase coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order,” he told Xi.

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, said he wanted the Ukraine conflict resolved quickly and peacefully. Modi visited Kyiv in August and Moscow in July in an effort to encourage talks, casting Delhi as a potential peacemaker, but there have been few developments since.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, who has also sought to play the role of mediator in the conflict, praised Moscow as a “valued ally” and friend “who supported us from the very beginning in the fight against apartheid”.

Putin, speaking on Tuesday with the president of the Brics New Development Bank, Dilma Rousseff, said the use of local currencies instead of the dollar or euro “helps to keep economic development free from politics as far as possible in the context of today’s world”.

Russia claims the group now represents the global majority that can make up a substantial element of a coming new global order.

The Brics group has already expanded from its five members – South Africa, Russia, China, Brazil and India – to a broader group including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates. Ethiopia and Iran. Argentina applied and then withdrew after its presidential elections.

Egypt’s president, Abdelfattah al-Sisi, hailed Russian support for Egypt’s economic projects when he met Putin. Chief among them, Sisi said, was Egypt’s first nuclear power plant at El-Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast, built by Russia’s state atomic energy corporation Rosatom.

New applicants, often known as hedging states, that are in various stages of seeking membership include Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Others due to attend the event, apart from the wavering Guterres, include the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as well as leaders from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Indonesia and Mexico.

Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president, said on the way to the summit in Kazan: “Brics can be a way out of American totalitarianism and create a path of multilateralism. Brics can be a solution to deal with the dominance of the dollar and deal with the economic sanctions of countries.”

But with expansion of Brics membership comes the risk of a loss of clear ideological cohesion. India and Brazil share some of the desire to be freed of the dollar’s dominance, but not to the same extent as China or Russia. Despite the anti-western language in summit communiques, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for instance, has insisted that Brics is “not against anyone”. Brazil is advising against Venezuela being admitted to the group as part of an effort to prevent the alliance becoming purely anti-western.

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro made a previously unannounced arrival. He was quoted by Russian news agencies as calling the group “the epicentre of the new multi-polar world”.

Alex Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre in Berlin, said overall the Brics summit was already a gift to Putin. Writing in Foreign Affairs, he said the message of the gathering will be: “Not only is [Russia] far from being an international pariah but also is now a pivotal member of a dynamic group that will shape the future of the international order. That message is not mere rhetorical posturing, nor is it simply a testament to the Kremlin’s skilful diplomacy with non-western countries or to those countries’ self-interested, pragmatic engagement with Russia.”

Putin was unable to risk attending the last Brics summit in Johannesburg because he did not want to embarrass his hosts, who would have been obliged to arrest him on the ICC warrant since South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute.

The Russian president may be hoping more generally that world events are swinging in his direction, with the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House next month and the possibility of favourable result in the elections in Georgia this weekend.

The future of the Ukraine conflict in the short term rests on Trump’s election, but even if he loses, war fatigue in Europe is leading all sides to conclude that Ukraine will at least have to open talks with Putin while Russian troops still occupy a large part of eastern Ukraine. A decision by Guterres to attend the summit would have international consequences.

In 2014, Brazil, China, India and South Africa abstained from voting on a UN general assembly resolution in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity after Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Their unity was diluted after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, where India, China and South Africa abstained, and Brazil condemned Russia’s actions.

But the Brics+ founding purpose is not security but a means to develop economic and tech platforms that are immune to US pressure and sanctions, in part by circumventing the dollar and pushing the internationalisation of the yuan.
Despite Brics+ group having a larger combined GDP than either the G7 or the EU, its capital share and subsequent voting influence within institutions such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) remains significantly smaller, because each member country’s voting power is weighted on the basis of its financial contribution to the World Bank.

USA
Source: apnews.com

Putin ends BRICS summit that sought to expand Russia’s global clout but was shadowed by Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with multiple world leaders this week, including those from China, India, Turkey and Iran, as part of the Kremlin’s efforts to counterbalance the Western-led world order.

China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday emphasized the need to avoid an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine as he addressed leaders and officials at a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies in Russia.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is hosting China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and other world leaders at a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, part of Kremlin efforts to challenge Western global clout.

UN chief Guterres welcomes BRICS contribution to solving global problems

KAZAN, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin closed a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies on Thursday, praising its role as a counterbalance to what he called the West’s “perverse methods.”

The three-day summit in the city of Kazan was attended by leaders or representatives of 36 countries, highlighting the failure of United States-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

The conflict came up repeatedly at the meeting, which saw the first visit to Russia from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in more than two years and drew an angry reaction from Kyiv. Guterres called for “a just peace” in Ukraine, in line with the U.N. Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions. He also urged an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan.

At a news conference Thursday night, Putin was asked about former U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to end the fighting in Ukraine.

“What Mr. Trump said recently, what I heard, (is) he spoke about the desire to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine,” Putin said. “It seems to me that he said it sincerely. We certainly welcome statements of this kind, no matter who makes them.”

Putin also was asked about whether any North Korean troops were in Russia, which he neither confirmed nor denied. The U.S. said Wednesday that 3,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia and are training at several locations.

“Images are a serious thing, if there are images, then they reflect something,” he said when asked about satellite photos of troops.

Putin noted that lawmakers in Moscow earlier in the day ratified a pact with North Korea on mutual military assistance as part of a “strategic partnership” with Pyongyang.

“We have never doubted that the North Korean leadership takes our agreements seriously. What and how we will do within the framework of this article (of the agreement) is our business,” he said.

The summit covered the deepening of financial cooperation, including the development of alternatives to Western-dominated payment systems, efforts to settle regional conflicts and expansion of the BRICS group of nations.
The alliance that initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa when it was founded in 2009 has expanded to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and several other countries have expressed interest in joining.
The Kremlin touted the summit as “the largest foreign policy event ever held” by Russia.

Speaking at what was dubbed the “BRICS Plus” session, which included countries that are considering joining the bloc, Putin 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.”

Russia has specifically pushed for the creation of a new payment system that would offer an alternative to the global bank messaging network SWIFT and allow Moscow to dodge Western sanctions and trade with partners.
In a joint declaration Wednesday, participants voiced concern about “the disruptive effect of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions” and reiterated their commitment to enhancing financial cooperation within BRICS. They noted the benefits of “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 emphasized 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 for it. 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.

Putin and Xi had announced a “no-limits” partnership weeks before Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. They already met twice earlier this year, in Beijing in May and at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan in July.

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.

Addressing the BRICS Plus session, Guterres urged an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan. “We need peace in Ukraine, a just peace in line with the U.N. 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 U.S., Washington, Brussels, London ended up isolating themselves,” said Yevgeny Popov, host of a popular political talk show on state channel Rossiya 1.

United Kingdom
Source: www.bbc.com


For years, Western critics have dismissed Brics as a relatively inconsequential entity.

But this past week, at its annual summit in Russia, the group triumphantly showcased just how far it has come.

Top leaders from 36 countries, as well as the UN Secretary General, attended the three-day event, and Brics formally welcomed four new members - Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. More membership expansions could soon follow. Brics had previously added only one new member - South Africa in 2010 - since its inception (as the Bric states) in 2006.

There’s a growing buzz around Brics, which has long projected itself as an alternative to Western-led models of global governance. Today, it’s becoming more prominent and influential as it capitalises on growing dissatisfaction with Western policies and financial structures.

Ironically, India - perhaps the most Western-oriented Brics member - is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the group’s evolution and expansion.

India enjoys deep ties with most new Brics members. Egypt is a growing trade and security partner in the Middle East. The UAE (along with Saudi Arabia, which has been offered Brics membership but hasn’t yet formally joined) is one of India’s most important partners overall. India’s relationship with Ethiopia is one of its longest and closest in Africa.

Brics' original members continue to offer important benefits for India too.

Delhi can leverage Brics to signal its continued commitment to close friend Russia, despite Western efforts to isolate it. And working with rival China in Brics helps India in its slow, cautious effort to ease tensions with Beijing, especially on the heels of a border patrolling deal announced by Delhi on the eve of the summit. That announcement likely gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi the necessary diplomatic and political space to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the summit's sidelines.

Additionally, Brics enables India to advance its core foreign policy principle of strategic autonomy, whereby it aims to balance relations with a wide spectrum of geopolitical players, without formally allying with any of them.

Delhi has important partnerships, both bilateral and multilateral, inside and outside the West. In that sense, its presence in an increasingly robust Brics and relations with its members can be balanced with its participation in a revitalised Indo-Pacific Quad and its strong ties with the US and other Western powers.

More broadly, Brics’ priorities are India’s priorities.

The joint statement issued after the recent summit trumpets the same principles and goals that Delhi articulates in its own public messaging and policy documents: engaging with the Global South (a critical outreach target for Delhi), promoting multilateralism and multipolarity, advocating for UN reform (Delhi badly wants a permanent seat on the UN Security Council), and criticising the Western sanctions regime (which impacts Delhi’s trade with Russia and infrastructure projects with Iran).

And yet, all this may appear to pose a problem for India.

With Brics gaining momentum, inducting new members, and attracting global discontents, the group is seemingly poised to begin implementing its longstanding vision - articulated emphatically by Beijing and Moscow - of serving as a counter to the West.

Additionally, Brics' new members include Iran and, possibly further down the road, Belarus and Cuba - suggesting the future possibility of an outright anti-West tilt.

While India aims to balance its ties with the Western and non-Western worlds, it would not want to be part of any arrangement perceived as avowedly anti-West.

However, in reality, such fears are unfounded.

Brics is not an anti-West entity. Aside from Iran, all the new members have close ties with the West. Additionally, the many countries rumoured as possible future members don’t exactly constitute an anti-West bloc; they include Turkey, a Nato member, and Vietnam, a key US trade partner.

And even if Brics were to gain more anti-West members, the grouping would likely struggle to implement the types of initiatives that could pose an actual threat to the West.

The joint statement issued after the recent summit identified a range of plans, including an international payment system that would counter the US dollar and evade Western sanctions.

But here, a longstanding criticism of Brics - that it can’t get meaningful things done - continues to loom large. For one thing, Brics projects meant to reduce reliance on the US dollar likely aren’t viable, because many member states’ economies cannot afford to wean themselves off of it.

Additionally, the original Brics states have often struggled to see eye to eye, and cohesion and consensus will be even more difficult to achieve with an expanded membership.

India may get along well with most Brics members, but many new members don’t get along well with each other.

Iran has issues with both Egypt and the UAE, and Egypt-Ethiopia relations are tense.

One might hope that the recent easing of tensions between China and India could bode well for Brics.

But let’s be clear: despite their recent border accord, India’s ties with China remain highly strained.

An ongoing broader border dispute, intensifying bilateral competition across South Asia and in the Indian Ocean region, and China’s close alliance with Pakistan rule out the possibility of a détente anytime soon.

Putin at the 2024 summit - Delhi can leverage Brics to signal its continued commitment to close friend Russia
Brics today offers the best of all worlds for Delhi. It enables India to work with some of its closest friends in an expanding organisation that espouses principles close to India’s heart, from multilateralism to embracing the Global South.

It affords India the opportunity to stake out more balance in its relations with the West and non-Western states, in an era when Delhi’s relations with the US and its Western allies (with the notable exception of Canada) have charted new heights.

At the same time, Brics' continuing struggles to achieve more internal cohesion and to get more done on a concrete level ensure that the group is unlikely to pose a major threat to the West, much less to become an anti-West behemoth - neither of which India would want.

The most likely outcome to emerge from the recent summit, as suggested by the joint statement, is a Brics commitment to partner on a series of noncontroversial, low-hanging-fruit initiatives focused on climate change, higher education, public health, and science and technology, among others.

Such cooperation would entail member states working with each other, and not against the West - an ideal arrangement for India.

These collaborations in decidedly safe spaces would also demonstrate that an ascendant Brics need not make the West uncomfortable. And that would offer some useful reassurance after the group’s well-attended summit in Russia likely attracted some nervous attention in Western capitals.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

The capital of Tatarstan hosted a plenary session of the 16^th BRICS Summit in the BRICS Plus/Outreach format, bringing together leaders from CIS countries, delegations for Asian, African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries, as well as several international organisations at the level of heads of their executive bodies.

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, Deputy Foreign Minister, Russia’s BRICS Sherpa Sergei Ryabkov, and Ambassador at Large of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Russia’s BRICS Sous-Sherpa Pavel Knyazev.
* * *
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Heads of state,

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

I am delighted to welcome all of you to the BRICS Plus/Outreach-format meeting. This inclusive platform has proven its worth by enabling the BRICS group participants to engage in a direct and open dialogue with their friends and partners.

Let me remind you that heads of many African countries and senior executives from the key regional organisations were invited to attend last year’s meeting in Johannesburg. This time, the Russian chairmanship invited Russia’s closest neighbours and friendly countries with whom we share a common past, having lived within a single state. In addition, heads of state seeking to forge closer partnership ties with BRICS or even considering joining the group are also present here. There are also countries leading major multilateral structures here. Therefore, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America are all represented at this table.

According to our agenda, we will discuss the most pressing issues the international community is facing today, including sustainable development, eradication of poverty, climate change adaptation, exchanging technology and knowledge, fighting terrorism and transborder crime.

We will focus particularly on the peaceful resolution of conflicts, certainly including a serious discussion of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.

It is crucial for BRICS members to discuss all these issues with countries from the Global South and East that share our approach. All our countries share similar aspirations, values and a vision of a new democratic world order that reflects cultural and civilisational diversity. We are confident that such a system should be guided by the universal principles of respect for the legitimate interests and sovereign choice of nations, respect for international law and a spirit of mutually beneficial, honest co-operation.

The transition to a more just international system is not easy. Its development is being hampered by forces whose thinking and actions continue to be aimed at dominating everything and everyone. Under the guise of a rule-based order they are imposing on the world, they are actually attempting to contain growing competition and prevent the independent development of countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that they cannot control.

These forces are resorting to 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. Yes, they are using these tactics as well.

These twisted methods and perverse approaches – to put it bluntly – lead to the emergence of new conflicts and the aggravation of old disagreements. This undermines regional and global strategic stability, violates the principles of equal and indivisible security, and encourages internecine strife.

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. Now they are not even hiding that their goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country. I will say bluntly that anyone harbouring such illusory plans has no understanding of Russia’s history, of our nation’s unity and cohesion forged over centuries, or our people’s moral fibre and fortitude.

But, as agreed, our discussion will primarily focus on the situation in the Middle East. This is another cause for concern, and precisely the case I was referring to: the escalation of a long-standing conflict that has not been extinguished for decades.

The current round of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation is probably one of the most sanguinary in the long list of conflicts. Over 40,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip. I would like to emphasise that we have always come out against the use of terrorist methods.

The hostilities that began in Gaza a year ago have now spread to Lebanon. Other countries of the region have been affected as well. Tensions between Israel and Iran have increased dramatically. Taken together, this looks like a chain reaction that could push the Middle East towards an all-out war.

The humanitarian situation is rapidly worsening. The number of refugees and internally displaced persons has exceeded 1.5 million. Massive damage has been caused to infrastructure, apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and social facilities, and destruction is ongoing.

Russia has many problems of its own, of course, which are very important and which we must address, we are addressing them and will continue to do so. At the same time, we have always tried to make a substantial contribution to stabilisation in the Middle East. That is why, since the start of the escalation, we have joined forces with our BRICS and other partners to contribute to a settlement. As you may remember, our group even held a video summit in November 2023.

The immediate task is, of course, to launch a comprehensive political process for addressing the Middle East problem in its entirety. Violence must stop, vital assistance must be provided to the affected people, and their suffering must be alleviated. A settlement must be achieved on the basis of universally recognised international law, which actually stipulates the establishment of an independent Palestinian State that will live peacefully side by side with Israel.
Mending the historical injustice done to the Palestinian people would guarantee peace in the Middle East. The vicious circle of violence will not be broken until this problem is solved. People will continue to live in an atmosphere of permanent crisis, with inevitable outbreaks of massive violence.

I would like to repeat that the main condition for restoring peace and stability in the Palestinian territories is the realisation of the two-state formula approved by the UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.
As for the way we assess the present-day international environment, I would like to emphasise that the countries represented in this room have immense opportunities and resources at their disposal and play a prominent role on the international stage. In fact, they have been using their standing to enhance global security and promote sustainable development around the world.

In this context, many countries among us have put forward initiatives that have proven to be quite useful. Russia advocated the idea of creating an inclusive system of equitable and indivisible security for Eurasia free from any discrimination. This initiative consists of working together to guarantee genuine and reliable stability and enable all states and nations across the continent to develop themselves in peace.

Of course, the fact that this meeting is taking place on United Nations Day is a very powerful symbol. It was on October 24, 1945, that the UN Charter came into effect. It sets forth the principles which have served as the cornerstone of interstate relations and international law for almost 80 years now.

The United Nations must retain its central role in efforts to maintain peace and security and facilitate sustainable and steady development. Meanwhile, to ensure the effective functioning of the UN in the future, we believe it is important to adapt its structures to the realities of the 21^st century, expanding the representation of countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, including those whose leaders are present here, in the Security Council and other key international bodies.

An effort to reform UN development institutions and global financial structures has long been overdue. Developing countries no longer play the role they used to have within the global economy. Everything changed over the past decades. However, this did not pave the way to any changes or shifts in the management of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank or other multilateral development banks.

The founding fathers of the United Nations believed that its purpose was to enable nations to come together and agree on joint actions. In fact, it is only by working together that we can respond to global challenges and threats and deal with issues such as terrorism, drug trafficking, corruption, organised crime, including the criminal use of information technology, and of course foster steady economic growth for inclusive development and prosperity.
It is quite clear that the countries of the Global Majority will be the ones to bring about the next wave of global economic growth. Therefore, it is high time that we discuss the idea of setting up our own platform for unlocking the potential of our emerging economies. It must enable countries from the BRICS group, as well as those across the Global South and East, to attract more investment and focus on investing in infrastructure and technology projects.
It is essential to build alternative multilateral financial mechanisms and supply chains that are reliable and free from any dictate, to establish channels for exchanging advanced technology and expertise, to develop new international transport corridors and increase their capacity.

Russia is working together with its partners to enhance globally significant routes such as the North-South corridor and the Northern Sea Route, and we invite all interested countries to participate.

As we are well aware, climate has a special place in the sustainable development agenda. In this regard, it makes sense to focus on developing practical solutions to the problems caused by global warming. It is important to provide countries in the Global South and East with access to financing and technology, and to help them adapt to climate change.

I would like to emphasise that Russia seeks to participate in the global climate process in the most active way possible. Our country is one of the leaders in terms of its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and its energy balance is one of the greenest in the world. The cumulative share of environmentally friendly gas, nuclear and hydro generation in Russia is 85 percent. Russia accounts for more than 20 percent of the world’s forests, which help to slow global warming by absorbing greenhouse gases.

Russia also makes a serious contribution to global food and energy security. Last year alone, we exported over 100 million tonnes of agricultural products, becoming a leading grain exporter. Russia also holds a leading position in the energy market.

We have initiated the creation of a grain exchange within the BRICS format. We believe that this mechanism will facilitate the establishment of a transparent and risk-free regime for trade in agricultural products, both among BRICS countries and with our other partners.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that Russia, like all BRICS countries, is open to cooperation with all countries of the Global South and East to promote inclusive and sustainable development and ultimately build a better world. It will be a world where every nation’s stance and interests are taken into account, their right to sovereign development and their identity are respected, and the absolute value of all cultures, traditions and religions is recognised.
I trust that today’s discussion will be constructive and substantive and provide insights for addressing the current regional and global agenda.

Thank you for your attention.

<…>

Vladimir Putin: Mr Secretary-General [of the United Nations Antonio Guterres] said that we all must live as one big family.

Mr Secretary-General, this is exactly the way we have been living our lives. Unfortunately, families often have quarrels and scandals and may have to split their assets, and sometimes their disputes become physical. BRICS sees its purpose as creating the necessary cooperation mechanisms and a favourable environment within the household we share. This is what we are doing, and this is what we will continue to do, including by working closely with the United Nations.

Thank you very much.

Colleagues, friends,

We will have a short break before continuing our work in the working breakfast format.

Thank you.

USA
Source: www.nytimes.com

For three uninterrupted days this week, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia basked in the attention of other world leaders in the picturesque Russian city of Kazan, along the banks of the Volga River.

He beamed as he clinked a champagne flute with visiting heads of state at a gala dinner. He stood proudly beside the powerful leaders of China and India, who chose his country to hold their own first official meeting in more than five years. And he held court at round table discussions during which he pronounced that the West was facing an irreversible process of decline.

Elsewhere in the world, Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine was raging toward year three. Western officials expressed alarm that North Korean soldiers were present in Russia, which Mr. Putin appeared to tacitly confirm. Israel seemed poised to retaliate against Iran as the threat of a wider war in the Middle East loomed.

And the eyes of the world were turning toward an American presidential election in less than two weeks that could drastically alter global security.

Little of that penetrated the bubble Mr. Putin created around his gathering, a meeting of emerging market countries. The summit — known by the acronym BRICS — had the feel of an alternate reality.

Surrounded by mostly like-minded leaders, compliant state media and pro-Kremlin bloggers, Mr. Putin positioned himself as the respected head of an important power helping to forge a more equal world order.

Never mind that Mr. Putin cannot travel abroad freely because of a warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court. The steady procession of leaders, and the presence of the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, granted him something that has eluded him since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022: a sense of normalcy.

“The BRICS summit was a carefully created parallel universe, a version of the universe which Russia is trying to create because it was excluded from the existing global order,” said Alexandra Prokopenko of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin.

The challenges of the war in Ukraine, highlighted by Russia’s need for manpower from North Korea, barely received a mention. Instead, the gathering’s final communiqué delivered scathing criticism of the West’s handling of the crisis in the Middle East.

Traffic was at a standstill as delegations descended on the city of more than one million people, mostly for meetings at a gargantuan convention center adjacent to Kazan’s international airport.

The atmosphere was upbeat as the leaders toe-tapped during a concert of traditional Russian music, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India gave a thumbs up as President Xi Jinping of China cracked a smile during a conversation with Mr. Putin. Organizers said 35 states and six international organizations were represented. Every continent besides North America is now represented in BRICS.

Still, Russia’s isolation since the war in Ukraine hung over the event. Organizers had taken pains to inform participants that non-Russian bank cards would not work inside the country, and suggested that they bring U.S. dollars — the very currency whose dominance Mr. Putin has complained about — or euros instead.

By the time the last delegation had left what turned out to be the largest international gathering in Russia since the start of the war, many of Mr. Putin’s difficult issues remained the same, if not worse.

Russia’s challeges in financing Mr. Putin’s war became even more apparent on Friday when its central bank raised the key interest rate to 21 percent, the highest in years. The addition of troops from the rogue nuclear state of North Korea underscored Moscow’s need for more manpower to sustain its war of attrition in Ukraine.

The need for North Korean assistance puts Mr. Putin in an uncomfortable diplomatic position with his chief benefactor, Mr. Xi of China. Mr. Xi has called on countries not to add “oil to the fire” in Ukraine. And Beijing is probably worried that any development that emboldens the mercurial regime in Pyongyang, like growing ties with Moscow, could destabilize its border along the Korean Peninsula.

That sense of unease, in contrast to the triumphant mood in Kazan, also extended to other BRICS members, like Iran, which was girding for a retaliatory strike from Israel for its own missile barrage this month.

And despite expressions of good will at the summit, there remained no indication that BRICS was any closer to bridging the differences between countries like China and Russia, which want to confront the U.S.-led order, and others like India and Brazil, which want to reform it.

“We must be careful to ensure that this organization does not acquire the image of one that is trying to replace global institutions, instead of being perceived as one that wishes to reform them,” Mr. Modi said during one of the plenary sessions.

That remains one of the central tensions of BRICS, and one that Mr. Putin takes seriously as he tries to forge closer ties with Delhi and Beijing. Those stumbling blocks prevent the group from becoming a global heavyweight, at least for now.

“I would not dismiss it as all optics, but neither would I say that this is an alliance in the making or an alternative geopolitical power center at present,” said Manoj Kewalramani, head of Indo-Pacific studies at the Takshashila Institution research center in Bangalore, India. “Member states and the new partner countries have very different interests and are engaging for pragmatic benefit rather than an ideological commitment.”

Still, Mr. Kewalramani said that some of the proposals on the table showed that there was a strong interest in meeting the needs of developing countries, like financial support from the development bank and grain and commodities exchanges Mr. Putin proposed this week.

The group may well grow from a forum for emerging markets into an institution, but that will take time that Mr. Putin probably does not have, said Tatiana Stanovaya, the founder of R.Plitik, a political analysis firm.

“Today, BRICS cannot be an instrument for advancing Russia’s interests in the context of the Ukraine crisis,” she said in a phone interview. While Beijing has thrown Moscow an economic lifeline, the grouping is divided in its views on the war and limited in the support it is providing.

Though Mr. Putin is finally seeing the rise of a grouping of non-Western countries, something that he has wanted for a long time, “he can’t use it now,” Ms. Stanovaya said.

“Maybe BRICS will become something in the next 12 or 15 years,” she said. “But where will Putin be, and where will Ukraine be by then?”

David Pierson covers Chinese foreign policy and China’s economic and cultural engagement with the world. He has been a journalist for more than two decades. More about David Pierson

Valerie Hopkins covers the war in Ukraine and how the conflict is changing Russia, Ukraine, Europe and the United States. She is based in Moscow. More about Valerie Hopkins

Belgium
Source: news.un.org

The BRICS intergovernmental organization can play a greater role in strengthening multilateralism for global development and security, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday, in remarks to the group’s summit hosted by Russia in the city of Kazan.

He urged the bloc to help forge a more equitable global finance system, boost climate action, improve access to technology and work towards peace, particularly in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan.

BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, who were later jointed by South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Collectively, they represent nearly half the world’s population.

Address global challenges

Mr. Guterres saluted their valuable commitment and support for international problem-solving.
“But no single group and no single country can act alone or in isolation. It takes a community of nations, working as one global family, to address global challenges,” he said.

They include the increase in conflicts, climate change, rising inequalities and lingering poverty and hunger, as well as “a debt crisis that threatens to smother plans for the future of many vulnerable countries.”

Furthermore, fewer than one-fifth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track, the digital divide is growing, and bodies such as the UN Security Council and the Bretton Woods institutions lack representation by developing countries.

Pact for the Future

Insisting that “this must change”, Mr. Guterres pointed to the Summit of the Future, held at the UN in September, which put forward a roadmap for strengthening multilateralism and advancing peace, sustainable development and human rights.

Leaders adopted a Pact for the Future covering sustainable development, international peace and security, science and technology, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance.

A Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations are in the annex.

“The Summit of the Future charted a course to strengthen multilateralism for global development and security. Now we must turn words into deeds and we believe BRICS can play a very important role in this direction,” he said.

Reform global financial architecture

Mr. Guterres outlined four areas for action, starting with finance.

He said the Pact for the Future calls for accelerating reform of the international financial architecture, which is “outdated, ineffective and unfair”.

It also includes a commitment to move forward with an SDG stimulus plan to support developing countries by substantially increasing the lending capacity of multilateral development banks.

“Next year’s Conference on Financing for Development and the Summit on Social Development are two milestones to carry these efforts forward,” he said.

Ambitious climate goals

Addressing climate change, Mr. Guterres stressed the need for “dramatic action to reduce emissions now” to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

He said the COP29 UN climate conference in Azerbaijan next month "starts the clock for countries to produce new Nationally Determined Contributions plans with 2035 targets that are aligned with the 1.5-degree goal.”

The conference “must deliver an ambitious and credible outcome on the new climate finance goal," he added. Additionally, developed countries must keep their promise to double adaptation and finance, and ensure meaningful contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund.

Access to technology

Meanwhile, every country must be able to access the benefits of technology, and the Global Digital Compact commits to enhanced international cooperation and capacity-building in this area.

“It includes the first truly universal agreement on the international governance of Artificial Intelligence to give every country a seat at the AI table,” he said.

"It calls for an independent international Scientific Panel on AI and initiating a global dialogue on its governance within the United Nations with the participations of all countries.”

Moreover, the Compact requests options for innovative financing for AI capacity-building in developing countries, he added.

‘We need peace’

For his final point, Mr. Guterres said the international community “must strengthen and update the machinery of peace,” which includes making the Security Council more reflective of the world today.

He noted that the Pact for the Future contains important steps on disarmament. This includes the first multilateral agreement on nuclear disarmament in more than a decade, as well as steps to address the weaponization of outer space and the use of lethal autonomous weapons.

“Across the board, we need peace,” he said.

“We need peace in Gaza with an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the effective delivery of humanitarian aid without obstacles, and we need to make irreversible progress to end the occupation and establish the two-State solution, as it was recently reaffirmed once again by a UN General Assembly resolution.”

Peace is also needed in Lebanon, with an immediate cessation of hostilities, moving to the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).

Read our explainer about the resolution here.

“We need peace in Ukraine. A just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions,” he continued.

“We need peace in Sudan, with all parties silencing their guns and committing to a path towards sustainable peace.”
The Secretary-General recalled that these were the same messages he delivered to the High-Level segment of the UN General Assembly in September.

“Unfortunately, they remain valid here and now,” he said. “Everywhere, we must uphold the values of the UN Charter, the rule of law, and the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States.”

India
Source: www.voanews.com

BRICS leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, have publicly voiced their commitment to jointly introduce an alternative payment system that would not be dependent on the U.S. dollar.
Independent analysts, however, question the feasibility of implementing the idea anytime soon.

The recently concluded meeting of BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India. China and South Africa — discussed ways to establish an alternative to SWIFT, the international payment system. Russia was removed from the SWIFT system after the start of Ukraine war in 2022 and has been particularly keen to find an alternative.

“We are looking into the possibility of expanding the use of national currencies and settlements and want to establish the tools that would make this safe and secure enough,” Putin said. BRICS will work out a payment arrangement with the cooperation of central banks affiliated with the group’s member countries, he said.

Analysts assert this is easier said than done. But some experts, like Gregory Zerzan, former deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, have warned about the danger of ignoring the BRICS’ efforts. He said that’s because its members, some of whom are less friendly toward the U.S., appear determined to achieve their goal.

“There is still a long way to go before BRICS will ever launch a payment system that could be treated as a serious alternative to the SWIFT,” Eva Seiwert, analyst at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies, told VOA.
She pointed out that the Kazan Declaration, which was adopted after the two-day BRICS meeting this week, was vague about even the milder version called the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative, or BCBPI, which is supposed to strengthen corresponding banking networks within BRICS and enable settlements in local currencies of BRICS members.

The declaration said that participation by member countries in BCBPI would be “voluntary and non-binding.”
The BRICS plan is taken seriously in some quarters because China and India have shown it is possible to defy the economic sanctions and buy Russian oil using local currencies. Some analysts think that provision may be extended to oil-rich Iran, which has joined the BRICS club.

At the same time, bankers are not convinced that BRICS has been able to come up with a technical support system for creating and sustaining an alternative to the SWIFT system.

“How do you account for currency fluctuations if the alternative payment system is established?” asked Gopal Tripathy, head of Treasury at Jana Small Finance Bank based in Bengaluru, India. “They might use the USD [U.S. dollar] as a reference currency. In that case, the whole purpose of moving away from the dollar is lost.”

Companies in India, China, South Africa and Brazil may find it difficult to make and receive payments with business partners in countries outside the BRICS club.

“There is no moving away from the U.S. dollar unless you can create a parallel ecosystem,” he said.
Though the BRICS do not appear ready with the mechanism to implement the idea, there are concerns in Washington about the de-dollarization campaign launched by some countries.

Speaking with the House Financial Services Committee in July, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. economic sanctions have led to BRICS trying to kickstart the de-dollarization agenda.

“The more sanctions the U.S. imposes, the more countries [BRICS] will seek financial transaction methods that do not involve the U.S. dollar,” she said.

Washington appears to have amended its view on the subject since July 2023, when Yellen said there was not much to worry about.

“We have deep liquid open financial markets, strong rule of law and an absence of capital controls that no country is able to replicate,” she said at that time.

Brazil, one of the group’s members, has gone a step further, suggesting that a BRICS currency should be released into the market. But this suggestion has not been widely accepted by other members of the group.

“A BRICS currency would require major political compromises, including a banking union, a fiscal union and general macroeconomic convergence … many experts doubt that a new BRICS reserve currency would be stable or reliable enough to be widely trusted for global transactions,” the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations said in an October 18 article on its website.

USA
Source: www.atlanticcouncil.org

A crack in the BRICS: Iran’s economic challenges take center stage at Russia’s summit

This week, finance ministers and central bank governors from over 190 countries will gather in Washington, DC, for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Annual Meetings. But there is another major economic event happening on the opposite side of the world. Leaders of the BRICS group are meeting in the Russian city of Kazan for their annual summit, with Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in attendance for the first time after his country officially joined the BRICS earlier this year.

Uncertainty continues to loom over Iran as Israeli officials pledge to retaliate against Tehran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month. However, while most analysis focuses on Iran’s geopolitical objectives in the region, there has been less discussion about the severe economic constraints facing the regime. These challenges will be at the center of Iran’s priorities during its first BRICS summit.

Iran’s economy is underperforming—and of its fellow BRICS members, it has one of the weakest economies. The chart below shows the difference in gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates amongst BRICS countries from 2023 to 2024, with Iran’s rate declining the most. The country’s economy is expected to continue to struggle, with growth rates remaining around 2 percent and inflation hovering around 34 percent. According to local media reports, bread prices have surged by 200 percent within the last year, while other basic necessities, such as water and housing, have also seen steep price hikes.

Sanctions are a part of the story. Since initial US economic sanctions, Iran’s GDP growth has consistently remained below its 2011 high. IMF forecasts suggest that the country’s GDP will continue to lag behind that peak through 2029. But there is more to the situation than just sanctions. Iran’s gas and energy plants are rusted and outdated, operating at only 70 percent capacity. The country’s inability to modernize is a direct result of western firms pulling out of the country over the past decade. Iran’s lack of energy has already sparked significant public outrage, as frequent blackouts disrupt daily life, halt industrial operations, and force the government to partially shut down offices during periods of peak demand. This is on top of ongoing concerns of corruption and mismanagement.

While these issues have created serious domestic challenges, the energy crisis has also taken a significant toll on Iran’s exports, particularly steel production (one of Iran’s largest non-oil exports), which declined by 50 percent last month. Ironically, despite facing persistent energy shortages and a 17,000 megawatt power deficit, Iran is also exporting electricity. Domestic energy prices are so tightly controlled that even the state-owned energy company, Tavanir, is forced to sell electricity abroad at higher rates to stay afloat. Without this export revenue, Iran would face even deeper economic losses and worsen its debt.

The story doesn’t look much better on the international side. Trade between Iran and its largest trading partners—China, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Russia, India, and Turkey—declined in 2023. Iran saw a 26 percent drop in trade with India, a 17 percent decline with Russia, and a staggering 33 percent falloff with Turkey. To make matters worse, China, the main customer of Iranian oil, significantly reduced its purchases this year. Since sanctions were reimposed on Iran in 2018, independent Chinese refiners, or “teapots,” have been key buyers of Iranian crude, taking advantage of discounts from sanctioned countries such as Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. Many of these oil transactions were conducted in Chinese currency and payment systems, allowing Iran to circumvent sanctions. Last year, oil exports to China accounted for about 5 percent of Iran’s total economic output. However, China’s weakening economy and declining domestic demand for oil are now creating ripple effects for Tehran’s sales. Chinese refiners also report that Iranian sellers are attempting to raise prices by offering smaller discounts as tensions escalate in the Middle East.
Iran will likely use the BRICS summit as an opportunity to pursue more trade and financial partnerships with its allies, as a part of the country’s “Look to the East” policy. Pezeshkian’s goal will be to attract domestic investment and secure technology transfers to address Iran’s energy shortages and boost production in key sectors like steel. Iran’s central bank governor, Mohammad-Reza Farzin, has already announced plans to seek membership in the BRICS-led New Development Bank. With this membership, Iran hopes to advance its development goals independently of the World Bank and other Western financial institutions—an agenda that, according to Farzin, will be a key focus at the summit.
While conflict in the Middle East continues to dominate headlines, Iran’s economic and energy crises also poses a significant threat to the regime’s long-term stability. Even as the country’s leadership navigates international isolation, internal corruption and mismanagement, and rising domestic frustration, resolving these internal economic challenges will be just as crucial. The reality is that Pezeshkian will show up to the BRICS leaders meeting and look for support across the BRICS not only in the military domain, but also for his country’s economy.

Josh Lipsky is the senior director of the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center and a former adviser to the International Monetary Fund.

Alisha Chhangani is an assistant director with the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center.

This post is adapted from the GeoEconomics Center’s weekly Guide to the Global Economy newsletter. If you are interested in getting the newsletter, email SBusch@atlanticcouncil.org

USA
Source: responsiblestatecraft.org

Russia is touting the recently opened BRICS summit as the largest foreign policy event ever held in Russia and the key event for Russia’s presidency of BRICS in 2024.

On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin welcomed leaders from 24 countries and delegations from a total of 32 nations. The 16th BRICS summit, running from October 22-24, is the first under the BRICS+ format and includes representatives from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

On the first day, the original BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) officially welcomed Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) into the group. With this expansion, BRICS+ now represents over 40% of the global population, potentially positioning itself as a viable counterweight to the Western-dominated global system.

While the main objectives of the gathering will focus on strengthening multilateralism, equitable global development, and security, attendees will also explore ways to deepen cooperation between BRICS nations and countries from the Global South.

Specific issues discussed among BRICS will include a new BRICS payment system, de-dollarization, a BRICS digital currency, an alternative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a proposal for a new trade platform for grain.
The chosen themes and issues accentuate and exacerbate the growing rift between the West’s existing global order and the Global South. BRICS, especially Russia, clearly intend to use the forum to display their vision of a multipolar economic and geopolitical architecture that starkly contrasts with the Western, primarily United States led, “rules-based” financial, economic, and political order.

Prior to the summit, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyachaslav Volodin publicly underscored these sentiments on Telegram: “Today, BRICS unites 10 countries and 45% of the world's population. More than thirty states are showing interest in participating in it... The time of Washington and Brussels hegemony is passing."

While BRICS+ countries are meeting in Kazan, the “rules-based order” and U.S. hegemony continue to be severely undermined by Israel’s ongoing Washington-backed military actions in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel has continued to exhibit an unwavering disrespect for United Nations resolutions, has attacked peacekeepers (referred to as UNIFIL in Lebanon), and even declared U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres persona non grata. Notably, Guterres is expected to attend in Kazan.

Among these increasing Middle East tensions, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran expects to complete the process of formalizing an agreement with Russia on strategic cooperation during the BRICS summit in Kazan. In mid-September, the Russian government reported the practical completion of the procedures necessary for signing a new interstate agreement on comprehensive strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

However, it appears that Russia may want to delay the official signing date due to increased tensions between Iran and Israel and Russian apprehension of being drawn in too strongly on Iran’s side. Instead, Russia has sought to use the BRICS gathering as a forum to discuss the war in Gaza and Lebanon. For example, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed arrived in Moscow on Sunday to much fanfare for an official visit that included high-level talks centered on bilateral cooperation and the situation in the Middle East.

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Beyond geopolitics, one of the more prominent issues to be raised during the summit is Russia’s proposal for a BRICS payment system, BRICS Pay. According to Bloomberg, “Russia is proposing changes to cross-border payments conducted among BRICS countries aimed at circumventing the global financial system, as the heavily penalized country seeks to sanctions-proof its own economy.”

Russia has recently experienced delays in international transactions with its trading partners, including BRICS member countries, as banks in these countries fear punitive actions from Western regulators.

The proposal includes plans to create a network of commercial banks that would allow participating countries to process transactions in local currencies as well as establish direct links between central banks. Additionally, Russia is proposing a model based on digital ledger technology that would allow the use of tokens for settlement. The plan also included the creation of centers for mutual trade in commodities such as grain.

Not surprisingly, this idea correlates with a Russian export trade plan introduced in September during the “Made in Russia” forum. Then, Russian government representatives spoke about the growth of the share of “friendly countries” in trade, about stimulating the export of medium and high value-added products, and about the need to supply more expensive agricultural products to foreign markets.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that the share of national currencies in settlements with partners from “friendly countries” — defined as China, Turkey, India, and Egypt — currently amounts to 90%. Such exports in August were already estimated at 86% of the total export volume.

Putin said BRICS countries should focus on the use of national currencies, new financial instruments, and the creation of an analogue of SWIFT. He called for a “cautious approach in creating a new reserve currency due to differences in the structure and quality of the economies of the BRICS member states.”

Prior to the BRICS summit, however, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that India has no plan to target the U.S. dollar, an announcement that placed the country directly at odds with China and Russia.

Despite objections from some BRICS+ members, it seems as though de-dollarization is slowly moving towards an economic reality. According to the Jerusalem Post, China has already unveiled plans to use a gold-backed yuan and Russia is trading in currencies tied to gold. Together with the significant gold accumulation by BRICS countries, these actions suggest a world shifting away from dollar reliance. For example, the divergence between treasuries and gold as safe havens has signaled investors’ heightened uncertainty given skyrocketing government debt and their preference for physical assets. Over the last 10 years, central bank purchases of gold have significantly outpaced purchases of U.S. Treasuries.

The Kazan BRICS summit has demonstrated a considerably impressive level of ambition, no doubt fueled by Russia’s chairmanship and the many underlying financial and economic issues with which it is currently wrestling. Although Russian interests obviously are driving the current agenda, it is evident that the issues presented resonate strongly among a variety of countries, from global powers like China to nations throughout the Global South. They all share a common interest in navigating the emerging challenges presented by a rapidly developing multipolar architecture.
Although BRICS 2024 is unlikely to implement immediate solutions to its economic and finance proposals, it has already successfully generated enthusiasm for alternative approaches to the post-World War II order. After several decades of war and harmful sanctions, BRICS+ nations are increasingly distrustful of the United States led “rules-based order” that favors the few at the expense of many. Western nations should take notice that while BRICS will not immediately bring down the existing global architecture, it is a looming threat to the unrivaled dominance of its institutions, which no longer maintain the trust or confidence of a growing majority of the world’s inhabitants.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Chair of the Russian side of the Joint Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation between Russia and South Africa Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova, Chair of the Russian Association of Fertiliser Producers Andrey Guryev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, and CEO of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.
* * *
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends,

We are delighted to welcome you all to Kazan, Russia.

We are grateful for your decision to take part in the BRICS Summit. Tonight, we will attend the opening ceremony together.

This year, Russia assumed the BRICS chairmanship, taking over from South Africa, and we have built our work taking into account the results achieved at the Johannesburg summit. Our focus has been on the seamless integration of new participants into the multi-level architecture of BRICS. In close contact with our South African friends, we have worked on coordinating the modalities for establishing the partner state status.

The relevant agencies of our countries collaborated in the financial sector to expand the use of national currencies in mutual settlements and to create an independent payment system.

Our bilateral relations are based on the principles of a comprehensive strategic partnership, equality, and mutual respect. Our political dialogue is progressing, and our foreign policy departments and security councils are actively communicating. Interparliamentary cooperation has been established.

Trade and economic ties between Russia and the Republic of South Africa are generally positive. Following a brief dip, mutual trade volumes have started to increase, rising by three percent in January-August 2024. Of course, we need to work jointly on some aspects in order to expand and diversify mutual trade and investment. Promising spheres of cooperation include energy, industry, agriculture, science and innovation.

Russia and the Republic of South Africa closely coordinate their efforts on the international stage to establish a fair multipolar world order.

Russia attaches special significance to strengthening relations with African countries. Collaborative work is underway to implement joint agreements approved at the Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg, notably a declaration and an action plan until 2026.

We look forward to hosting the head of your foreign policy agency in Sochi for the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, scheduled for November 9–10.

Once again, welcome to Kazan, Mr President.

President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa: Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your kind words of welcome.

It's a real joy and a pleasure to be here in Kazan, in Russia.

And we'd like to congratulate you for hosting and being the president of BRICS, having taken over from us. As South Africa, we are sure that you will be able to chair our meeting and our summit so that BRICS, as the enlarged BRICS body, will continue growing from strength to strength.

We also do look forward, of course, to this evening where we have been invited, and also to the summit itself, to participate with all other countries under your leadership to deal with matters that are of such great importance in geopolitical terms and everything that is happening around the world, but also on matters that have to do with trade, with climate change, with peace and security as well. So, we are delighted indeed to be here.

We're also delighted to be here to brief you and others on the journey that we have embarked upon as South Africa. We've formed a government of national unity following our elections in May of this year. So we will have time, as I briefed you on the telephone, but we will have time to talk more about that and inform you how that whole process of governing South Africa with a number of other parties is evolving as we have sought to unite the country, to stabilise the country politically. And we're rather pleased that with your support in every respect we've been able to reach this point in the history of our country.

So, 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. So, we're really delighted to be here and to know that we are going to have important discussions here in Kazan within the BRICS family. So, thank you very much for welcoming us. Thank you.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Russian Association of Fertiliser Producers Andrei Guryev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, Rosneft CEO and Chairman of the Management Board Igor Sechin, and Chairman of the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism, Chairman of the State Development Corporation VEB.RF and member of the BRICS Business Council Igor Shuvalov.

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, esteemed friend,

Chinese comrades and friends,

I extend a warm welcome to all of you here in Russia, particularly in the Republic of Tatarstan, in Kazan, the capital of the Republic. This region is distinctive, fascinating, and rapidly developing within our nation. The people of this region, known for their industriousness and talent, can indeed take pride in their significant achievements and developmental progress.

I would like to extend my personal congratulations once again to you, my dear friend, to all our Chinese friends, and to the amicable Chinese people, on the recently celebrated anniversaries. I refer to the 75^th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries.
Over the past 75 years, Russian-Chinese relations have attained the level of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. We can assert with complete confidence that these relations have become a paradigm of how inter-state relations should be constructed in the modern world. Our multifaceted cooperation is characterised by equality, mutual benefit, and an absolutely non-conformist nature.

After last year’s record in mutual trade, Russia and China have maintained dynamic economic growth and economic interaction despite the negative external impact. According to our data, bilateral trade increased by 4.5 percent in January-August. Chinese statistics are slightly different, but on the whole, the positive trend persists.

The agreements reached at our talks in Beijing in May and the meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Astana are being consistently implemented. We are successfully executing joint projects in energy, industry, high technology, transportation, agriculture and many other domains.

A new logistics centre has been built here in Tatarstan, named after Deng Xiaoping. This centre facilitates cargo transportation between our countries.

Humanitarian ties are also growing stronger, and cultural events are taking place as part of cross-year programmes. A total of 40 such events are planned on both sides. Mutual tourist flows, sports and educational exchanges are growing as well. As I was getting about the Kremlin yesterday, I saw large groups of Chinese tourists right there, in the heart of Russia, at the Kremlin in Moscow, as has been invariably the case in recent months and years.
Russian-Chinese cooperation in global affairs is one of the main stabilising factors in the international arena. We intend to further expand coordination at all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and promote a fairer world order.
We value the traditionally high level of Russia-China cooperation within BRICS. Over the years of our joint work, the group’s influence and prestige has considerably grown. We intend to further strengthen that entity, and we did everything we could in this regard while Russia was chairing it.

After our meeting, the leaders of the BRICS countries will meet at dinner tonight, for the first time in a new, enlarged composition. I have talked to – I just got off the phone with President of Brazil Lula da Silva. As you know, he had to stay home for medical reasons. He deeply regrets not being here in person, but he intends to join us tomorrow via videoconference. I told him it would be four in the morning local time and could be too strenuous for him. But he insisted, saying: “No, I want to participate in person, at least via videoconference.” I would like to convey his best wishes to you.

I am glad of this opportunity to meet with you before the summit, to make sure we are on the same page and discuss the bilateral agenda and international issues.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Welcome.

President of China Xi Jinping (retranslated): Mr President, my dear old friend,

I was delighted to receive your invitation to come to the ancient city of Kazan to attend the 16^th BRICS Summit. This is our third meeting this year.

The BRICS Summit is taking place in Kazan, and I learnt a lot about this city. I know that this summit is of great importance. I found out that, 400 years ago, the Great Tea Road, which connected our countries, also passed through Kazan. Chinese Wuyi tea was brought to Russia via this route.

At the beginning of this month, we exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Over the past decades, China-Russia relations have withstood the test of a changing international situation, come a long way and acquired an unprecedented character. We have taken the right path of building relations between great powers on the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-direction against third parties.

Mr President, in this new era, you and I always pay greater attention to bilateral relations and monitor them personally.
Both countries are committed to the spirit of eternal good-neighbourliness and friendship, as well as comprehensive strategic interaction and mutually beneficial cooperation, and constantly enhance and expand multifaceted strategic interaction and practical cooperation in all areas, thereby giving a powerful boost to national revival and modernisation, making a major contribution to the well-being of the two nations and the protection of international justice.

During this unprecedent tectonic transformation, unseen for centuries, the international situation is undergoing serious changes and upheavals. However, this cannot shake my conviction that the strategic choice of the two countries in favour of firm mutual support, the deep centuries-old friendship between our countries, and China and Russia’s sense of duty as great powers are inviolable.

BRICS is perhaps one of the most important platforms to consolidate the broad developing world and emerging market countries. It is a system-forming factor in the creation of equal, orderly multipolarity and generally accessible inclusive economic globalisation.

The BRICS Summit that begins tomorrow will be the first one after the group’s expansion. It will be crucial for the promotion of cooperation within the greater BRICS. We appreciate the enormous work done by Russia as part of its chairmanship, which has largely facilitated the successful beginning of cooperation within the greater BRICS. We praise it.

I look forward to a substantive discussion with my BRICS colleagues, first and foremost with you, on further development of our association, which will allow us to consolidate our positions and send a positive signal of solidarity and cooperation, but also to expand large-scale strategic interaction and practical cooperation within the group, hence opening up additional opportunities for the Global South countries and making a greater contribution to the cause of building a community of common destiny for humanity.

Thank you.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, deputy prime ministers Alexander Novak and Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Industry and Trade, Chair of the Russian side of the Joint Russia-Egypt Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia parliamentary group at the State Duma, Head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky, Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, Presidential Advisor Igor Levitin, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Sberbank German Gref, and CEO of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends.

Thank you for attending the BRICS forum. The fact that you are taking part in it having completed the formal accession procedure during Russia’s chairmanship of this group sends quite a powerful signal.

In fact, Russia has been paying special attention to expanding its friendly ties with Egypt, its long-standing and reliable partner. Last year, we marked the 80^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries.

We have been promoting our multifaceted bilateral relations across various domains based on the Treaty on Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation, and have generated steady momentum in terms of our trade and economic relations. Egypt accounts for almost one third of Russia-Africa trade. In 2023, it increased by 16.4 percent, and this growth not only spilled over into 2024 but also accelerated.

We continue carrying out major joint projects, including the construction of the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant and a Russian industrial zone. The effort to draft a free trade agreement between the Arab Republic and the Eurasian Economic Union is underway.

We have been maintaining regular and meaningful political dialogue at various levels. By the way, we are looking forward to seeing your foreign minister in Sochi on November 9 and 10 at the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. It is our hope that you will issue the relevant instructions.

Our interparliamentary cooperation is growing stronger. We are paying considerable attention to developing our ties in education. We have allocated 318 places for your students for the 2024–2025 academic year.

Russia and Egypt have similar approaches to many current global issues, and we appreciate our cooperation at UN platforms.

The main events of the summit will begin tomorrow, and today we have an opportunity to discuss our bilateral relations, the summit itself, and other issues of mutual interest.

My dear friend, I am happy to see you. Welcome to Russia.

President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (retranslated): In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Mr President, my dear friend,

Allow me to begin by expressing my joy at meeting with you again. I would like to say that we greatly appreciate Russia’s assistance to Egypt during its accession to BRICS. We also set a high value on the events that Russia held during its chairmanship. We were interested in attending all these events. I am delighted to be able to attend this forum with
Egypt as a full member of this group.

Egypt holds our interaction and cooperation in both the bilateral format and at multilateral platforms in the highest regard. We support the expansion of BRICS, which is becoming a platform for combating the negative effects of developments on the international stage.

We are also aware of the breakthrough BRICS is making in the interests of all parties regardless of any pressure, in particular in trade and especially trade between Egypt and Russia.

Mr President, in this context I would like to emphasise the importance of making settlements in our national currencies. This will protect our interests and the interests of developing countries worldwide.

We highly appreciate the dynamic development of our bilateral relations since the signing of a strategic partnership agreement in 2018, especially when it comes to the implementation of large-scale projects. Mr President, you mentioned the construction of the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant and a Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal area.

Our Parliament is making the final steps towards ratifying the agreement on the establishment of that zone, which will help prevent the negative consequences of sanctions and promote the zone’s operation in the interests of our states and BRICS countries.

Thank you, Mr President.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Russian co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Presidential Advisor Igor Levitin, President of the Russian Association of Fertiliser Producers Andrei Guryev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, Rosneft CEO and Chairman of the Management Board Igor Sechin, Chairman of the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism, Chairman of the State Development Corporation VEB.RFand member of the BRICS Business Council Igor Shuvalov.
* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, friends,

I am delighted to welcome you to Russia, this time to Kazan, a magnificent historical city on the Volga.

I warmly remember your visit to Moscow and our fruitful talks back in July. We regularly speak on the telephone. I am grateful that you accepted our invitation and came to the BRICS Summit in Kazan in person.

Today we will take part in the opening ceremony of the summit. Later, there will be a dinner for the leaders, and then we will begin our work.

Here in Kazan, we are to make a number of important decisions to enhance the efficiency of efforts made by BRICS and to strengthen multilateral cooperation within the group. We value our cooperation on this track, considering that our nations were instrumental in founding BRICS.

Russian-Indian relations are characterised by a special privileged strategic partnership and continue to develop actively. Interaction between legislative bodies is strengthening, and our foreign ministers are in constant contact.
Trade is also in good shape. The next meeting of the intergovernmental commission is scheduled for November 12 in New Delhi.

Large projects are consistently developing, and we welcome your decision to open a Consulate General of India in Kazan. Expanding India’s diplomatic presence in Russia will contribute to the further development of bilateral relations.

Mr Prime Minister, we are very glad to see you and your entire representative team in Russia.

Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi (retranslated): Your Excellency,

First of all, let me thank you from all my heart for your friendship and the warm and hospitable welcome.

I am happy to have the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Kazan to take part in the BRICS summit.

India has deeply rooted historical ties with this city. Once the Consulate General of India opens here, our relations will become even stronger.

Your Excellency, this is my second visit to Russia in the last three months, which demonstrates the close coordination and strong friendship between our countries.

As you mentioned, we held a bilateral summit in July in Moscow. Our discussions helped promote our cooperation in all areas.

Your Excellency, you have successfully chaired BRICS since the beginning of the year, and I would like to congratulate you on this.

Over the past 15 years, the BRICS group has developed a special identity, and today many countries are interested in joining it. I am looking forward to our discussions within BRICS tomorrow.

Your Excellency, we maintain regular contact regarding the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As I said before, we believe that problems must be solved by peaceful means. We fully support the establishment of peace and stability as soon as possible. In all our efforts, we give priority to humanity, and we are ready to provide any possible assistance in the future.

Your Excellency, today we will have the opportunity to discuss all these issues.

I would like to thank you once again.

<…>

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, and Director of the Latin America Department at the Foreign Ministry Alexander Shchetinin.

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Ms Rousseff, colleagues,

We are delighted to welcome you.

Our previous meeting took place in June of this year in St Petersburg, on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum, where we deliberated on matters pertaining to the future operations of the Bank.

We hold in high regard the accomplishments you have achieved in recent years. It is, indeed, a strong, evolving and promising financial institution. Since 2018, the Bank has funded about one hundred projects, amounting to a total of $33 billion. The increase in the share of settlements denominated in national currencies helps reduce debt servicing costs, strengthen the financial independence of BRICS states, and minimise geopolitical risks, that is, free economic development from political influence, as much as possible in today’s world.

As the BRICS chair this year, we anticipate your active engagement in the leaders' meeting at the BRICS summit in Kazan. As you are aware, your meeting with the leaders and your presentation on the Bank's operations are also scheduled.

Welcome.

President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff (retranslated): Thank you very much, Mr President.
It is a great pleasure for me to be here with the leadership of the Russian Federation.

I believe that this BRICS meeting is of significant importance. At present, the countries of the Global South are in considerable need of financial resources, and the conditions for securing such resources are rather challenging.
As you have noted, we have indeed implemented and allocated a substantial amount of funds towards a variety of projects. However, this remains insufficient relative to the needs of the Global South. Therefore, it is crucial to provide funding in national currencies and in specialised formats. The New Development Bank is dedicated to this endeavour, funding not only sovereign projects but also private initiatives.

We are currently observing the BRICS group advancing through a new stage of its maturation. I am of the view that BRICS can also encompass additional countries from the Global South, enabling us to identify new areas and domains for cooperation. In this context, both the expansion of BRICS and our emphasis on ensuring the necessary financial resources for projects in the countries of the Global South are of paramount importance.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Vladimir Putin held a meeting with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan.

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, deputy prime ministers Alexander Novak and Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia faction in the State Duma, Head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky, Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, Presidential Advisor Igor Levitin, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.

* * *

Beginning of Russian-Iranian talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President,

Colleagues, friends,

This visit to Russia is your first as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and this has great symbolic importance.

Iran has become a full participant of BRICS, and you know that we strongly supported your application. Earlier, we also vigorously promoted your accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. This has given us additional opportunities for cooperation in the international arena.

Recently, we had a very substantive and, I am sure, useful meeting in Ashgabat, where we reviewed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and the most relevant regional issues. Most importantly, we reaffirmed our policy of mutually strengthening ties in every possible way. Our interaction is on the rise; it is genuinely friendly and constructive. Soon we will be able to consolidate the results achieved with a new major interstate agreement on comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran.

We are grateful to you for accepting the invitation to pay a separate visit to our country to sign this document and other important documents in a ceremonial atmosphere.

As I said in Ashgabat, one of our priorities is to consolidate the emerging positive trends in trade and economic cooperation. We expect this issue to be addressed by the intergovernmental commission, chaired by our Minister of Energy, Mr Tsivilev, and Iranian Minister of Petroleum Mohsen Paknejad.

Other priorities include the implementation of major joint initiatives such as the development of Iranian railway infrastructure as part of promoting a major project, the International North-South Transport Corridor project, as well as the construction of the second and third power units at the Bushehr NPP.

Indeed, the Free Trade Agreement signed between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union at the close of 2023 significantly contributes to the expansion of economic ties.

Cultural and humanitarian cooperation is likewise making good progress. Notably, an intergovernmental agreement concerning the establishment and operation of cultural centres came into effect in July of this year. Moreover, the visa-free regime for organised groups of tourists, operational since August of the previous year, is actively fostering an increase in mutual tourist exchange – a 52-percent growth was observed in 2023.

Today, we will continue our discussions on the most pressing international issues, including the dramatic developments in the Middle East, as well as the situations in Syria and the South Caucasus.

Generally speaking, I would like to emphasise that the approaches of Russia and Iran towards the global agenda are closely aligned or fully coincide. We are united by a shared aspiration to establish a just multipolar world order, to uphold international norms, and to maintain the pivotal role of the United Nations.

I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my greetings and best wishes to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. We hold in high regard his attentive and constructive approach to the development of Russian-Iranian relations.

Thank you.

President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian (retranslated): Good afternoon, Mr President,

Most particularly, I ought to express my gratitude for your invitation to visit Kazan. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you.

As you mentioned, we had a very productive meeting in Ashgabat, during which certain agreements were reached. I have assumed personal oversight of the implementation of these agreements and have just spoken with my colleagues and ministers to finalise at this meeting matters left by the previous Government of Iran. If necessary, I will personally attend to this matter once again to ensure that all agreements and documents are signed at the earliest possible opportunity.

Our relations are of a strategic nature – it is in the interests of our nations to advance together. Our esteemed neighbour, Russia, is a great country.

We must continue our constructive collaboration within the BRICS framework. With your support, we have joined the EAEU [in the format of a free trade zone], the SCO, and BRICS, for which we are sincerely grateful to you, Mr President. We will undoubtedly and actively continue along this path.

I believe that today’s discussions were highly beneficial. Everything was constructive, and our course is also aimed at comprehensive cooperation with BRICS countries.

I am confident that we will be able to neutralise all the sanctions the United States has imposed on us, on you and us, and we shall be able to straighten out all the processes they are attempting to disrupt.

Our relations across various spheres – economic, political, and cultural – are developing exceedingly well. I am certain that we will soon be able to sign the treaty. At the earliest opportunity, we shall finalise this issue; we shall agree on this matter. I believe that the date for the signing of this treaty will soon be determined.
<…>

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, deputy prime ministers Alexander Novak and Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova, and President and Chairman of the Management Board of Rosneft Igor Sechin.

* * *

Beginning of Russian-Venezuelan talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends,

I am delighted to see you in Russia again.

I remember well our previous meeting in Moscow in 2019. I am glad that you were able to come to Kazan and personally participate in the BRICS Summit.

I know that our Venezuelan friends hold values and principles that are similar or overlapping with those BRICS is guided by: respect for each other’s legitimate interests and sovereignty, the sovereign choice of nations, mutually beneficial and honest equitable cooperation, and so on. We support your decision to participate in BRICS activities.
Venezuela is one of Russia’s longstanding and reliable partners both in Latin America and in the world. The strategic partnership between our countries is still evolving, and our mutually beneficial cooperation is progressing in all areas. Bilateral trade is growing too, we have numerous projects in the works in energy, pharmaceutical industry, transportation, civilian space activities, and high tech.

It is good to have this kind of package of projects for cooperation, but it will be even better if they make progress. Some of them are underway, which is good news.

It is also important to establish ties in the financial and banking spheres based on settlements in national currencies.
Direct flights have been established between our countries. This facilitates the growth of tourism and encourages cultural, humanitarian, research and educational exchanges. Russia and Venezuela coordinate their steps at the UN and other international platforms.

Together, Russia and Venezuela are striving to create a new, more just world order based on the rule of law and zero tolerance for neo-colonialism, interference in the internal affairs of other states, political and financial pressure, and unilateral coercive measures.

We appreciate that Venezuela shares our stance on the current international situation and consistently supports us in the face of the hybrid war and the Russophobia campaign being waged against our country.
Today we will discuss all the key bilateral and international issues.

We know how you are defending the interests of your people, Venezuela’s interests in your country, consistently and uncompromisingly. We are definitely on your side and strongly support your efforts in this area.

Thank you.

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro (retranslated): Thank you very much for the invitation to attend this historic BRICS Summit.

Venezuela follows the path of BRICS, and we are committed to achieving balance in the world, a commitment that traces back to the times of Bolivar. We uphold the legacy of Comandante Hugo Chavez, who endeavoured to create a multipolar, multi-centred world. We are implementing the BRICS principles because they align with our conviction: the Global South can only exist if it possesses the right to a future, the right to freedom, and the right to justice.
It is only in the 21st century – the century of change, the century of the birth of new geopolitics – that such emerging powers as China, Russia, and India can develop relations based on cooperation and respect with the peoples of the Global South and the Global East. We are all brother nations. I congratulate you on the success of this historic summit; it serves as an important message of hope for the entire world.

Russia and Venezuela have established ties that cannot be broken – political ties, moral ties, relationships that have withstood the test of time over all these years. We have traversed the desert. Indeed, I believe we have traversed several deserts.

Yesterday, upon landing here in Kazan, I remarked: we have arrived, we are standing on our feet, we are intact, and we have achieved victory – the people of Venezuela have achieved victories, and we are monitoring the struggle that Russia is waging against Nazism and fascism.

We also admire the victories you have secured for the Russian people on all fronts of the global struggle – be it economic, scientific, cultural, military, political, or diplomatic. Consequently, we take pride in the fact that you are our friends, that Russia is a friend of Venezuela, and we are prepared to continue advancing together.

There will be a meeting of the Russian-Venezuelan Intergovernmental Commission on November 7. We have an extensive agenda and are making progress in numerous areas. Venezuela has managed to restore its economy through its own efforts. We have very positive economic growth indicators and have successfully defeated inflation. We have investments, and we are prepared to continue welcoming Russian investments in our country, with the aim of further developing our trade, strengthening relations across various sectors of our economy, and enhancing our political relations with the great Russia.

I congratulate you once again on the success. Our entire delegation stands ready to continue making progress in all areas of cooperation.

Thank you very much, Mr President.

<…>

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, deputy prime ministers Alexander Novak and Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, Presidential Advisor Igor Levitin, Chairman of the Russian Association of Fertiliser Producers Andrei Guryev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, colleagues,

We are very pleased to welcome you to Kazan.

Before we get started, I would like to express my condolences over the recent terrorist attack. The media are reporting a terrorist attack in Turkiye. You are certainly aware of our stance on this: we condemn any acts of this kind, no matter what the motives may be.

Once again, I would like to welcome everyone to Kazan and to repeat how much I appreciate it that you have accepted the invitation to attend the BRICS Plus/Outreach meeting. I know that Turkiye is interested in establishing closer cooperation with the group, and we see great opportunities here, given your country’s international influence and unique geopolitical role to connect the eastern and western parts of Eurasia.

Russian-Turkish relations are of a good-neighbourly and constructive nature, rooted in a long-standing history of partnership across a wide range of areas. You and I maintain a regular dialogue on current issues on both bilateral and international agendas. I highly value these consistently beneficial interactions. I am confident that our conversation today will be both fruitful and useful.

Naturally, we will discuss ways to enhance trade and economic cooperation, which has been developing very steadily year by year. For instance, last year, the volume of trade was an impressive US$55.4 billion and from January to August this year, this figure rose by a further 6.2 percent.

We have accumulated a substantial volume of cross-investments: Russian companies are implementing major projects in such sectors of the Turkish economy as metallurgy and the automotive industry. Turkish business is prominently represented in machine-building, metallurgy, and woodworking, with the most of your investments and investment projects concentrated here, in Tatarstan, where we are today.

Strategically significant ties have been established in the energy sector. Russia is a reliable, time-tested supplier of natural gas to Türkiye. Last year, 20.5 billion cubic metres were exported through the Blue Stream and Turkish Stream pipelines.

Preparations are ongoing for the implementation of our initiative to create an international gas hub in Türkiye. I am confident that it will significantly enhance regional energy security, primarily through more balanced pricing mechanisms.

The flagship joint project is the construction of Akkuyu, Türkiye's first nuclear power plant. Work is being conducted simultaneously on all four power units around the clock. We anticipate that as early as next year, the plant will begin supplying electricity to the energy system of the Republic of Türkiye, as you have stated, Mr President, and as you have tasked the constructors.

Tourism has traditionally held a special place in our bilateral relations. In 2023, a record 6.3 million Russian tourists visited Turkiye, up 20.7 percent on the year before that. From January to August this year, over 4.5 million people visited Turkiye, an increase of 4.6 percent. Russia ranks first in Turkiye in this regard.

Close cooperation between our respective rescue services is particularly notable. At your request, we also took part is suppressing wildfires in the Republic and used our aviation in the process.

Of course, we will discuss international issues, including in light of tomorrow’s meeting of BRICS leaders and guest countries and organisations in the BRICS Plus/Outreach format.

Without a doubt, your participation in this event will convey the weighty role Turkiye plays in addressing pressing global issues. Tragic developments in the Middle East are the most pressing item on the international agenda. Russia’s and Turkiye’s principled positions on these matters are very close, and we both believe that a lasting political and diplomatic settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict can only be based on the universally recognised two-state solution approved by the UN Security Council.

As usual, we will discuss regional issues that are of special importance to our countries, including the Syrian peace process and normalisation of the situation in the South Caucasus. Of course, I am ready to inform you about the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis.

Mr President, we are delighted to see you. Welcome.

President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan (retranslated): Mr President, my dear friend,

Thank you for inviting me to the BRICS Summit in expanded format. It is a great pleasure for me to see you again after our meeting in Astana.

Thank you for the words of condolence. We have four dead – four martyrs – and 14 injured people. It was a treacherous act, a vile terrorist attack. May Allah grant peace to the souls of our martyrs.

Your Foreign Minister was in Istanbul last Friday as part of the 3+3 Regional Cooperation Platform. We hope to see you, Mr President, in our country soon.

Mr President, efforts to resolve issues in banking transactions between our countries are underway. In this regard, our respective treasuries and finance ministries as well as our central banks, continue to collaborate. Our ministers of trade are also working on it.

<…>

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) Anna Popova, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.

* * *

Beginning of Russian-Ethiopian talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, I am delighted to see you again.

Ethiopia’s accession to BRICS is a momentous decision and yet further proof of your country’s prestige on the international stage. We will continue to assist Ethiopia’s seamless integration into the operations of our group.

Last year, we marked the 125^th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, which are based on a rich history and longstanding traditions of friendship, mutual respect, and cultural and spiritual affinity between our nations.
Over the past year, we have stepped up our political dialogue and developed regular contacts between our ministries and agencies. Our countries often hold very similar views on the majority of global and regional issues. We appreciate Ethiopia’s support for the majority of Russian initiatives at the UN.

Russia is giving special attention to the development of ties with African countries. We are implementing the agreements reached at the second Russia–Africa Summit in St Petersburg, and we look forward to seeing the new Foreign Minister of Ethiopia at the first ministerial conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum in Sochi this November.

Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko is ready to visit Addis Ababa in the next few months.
Our bilateral trade is growing. It may be modest in absolute terms, but there is positive dynamics with a 65 percent growth in 2023. If we continue in the same vein, we will achieve substantial results, considering that the current figures are far from the optimal mark.

We would like to strengthen interaction in healthcare and research. Rospotrebnadzor is ready to donate a mobile laboratory to Ethiopia, just as we do in relations with our partners when we provide equipment and train their personnel. We are also providing assistance to our African partners through international organisations.

We pay special attention to cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Since the 1960s, over 20,000 Ethiopians have received a higher education in Russia. About 200 Ethiopians are currently studying in Russia. Days of Russia's Spiritual Culture were held in Addis Ababa in September.

Mr Prime Minister, our meeting today offers an opportunity to hold an in-depth discussion on these and other current issues of our cooperation.

Thank you.

Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed: Mr President, at the outset I would like to thank you for the warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to me and my delegation.

Congratulations on such a well-planned and extremely perfectly delivered summit. We are extremely happy in every second that we have spent in this beautiful city. Our meeting was very efficient, and I would like to congratulate you on such high-level delivery.

Allow me to congratulate you on maintaining economic resilience during a difficult period. This period was not easy for Russia, but under your leadership you have succeeded to maintain the economic resilience which might be exemplary for most of us.

Mr President, it is a good time for most of us to come and to witness how Russia is doing on many fronts, including the economy. In our exchanges, there are areas that we can clearly see that if we work hard and continuously engage, we can increase our economic ties, diplomatic ties, and also security ties.

Thank you very much. I hope in our discussion we will go into details of some issues.

Thank you.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Ladies and gentlemen,

The 16^th BRICS Summit has just concluded with great success.

It marked the culmination of Russia's chairmanship of the group and was one of the significant events on the global political calendar.

I have stated on numerous occasions that Russia has approached its BRICS chairmanship with full responsibility. Over 200 events were organised across thirteen Russian cities. Notably, numerous meetings of sectoral ministers took place, alongside various conferences, seminars, and the Business Forum. The Sports Games were also conducted very successfully.

This year, we have operated in the new expanded format and Russia as the group's chair has made every effort to ensure that new nations join our family swiftly and seamlessly. In my view, we have succeeded in this endeavour.
The new countries have witnessed and understood that it is feasible to work and achieve results within BRICS. They have come to appreciate that the cornerstone of our group is mutual respect and obligatory consideration of each other's interests. I can state with satisfaction that all of them are actively participating in working forums and are putting forward useful and promising ideas and initiatives.

Regarding the Kazan Summit itself, delegations from 35 countries and six international organisations participated in it, as you are already aware. Such broad representation clearly underscores the authority and role of BRICS, as well as the growing interest in cooperation with us from states that are indeed pursuing truly independent and sovereign policies.

Each of these countries has its own path of development, distinct models of economic growth, and a rich history and culture. It is obviously this civilisational diversity and unique combination of national traditions that underlie the strength and enormous potential for cooperation not only within BRICS but also within the broader circle of like-minded countries that share the group's goals and principles.

The Summit’s agenda was quite extensive. BRICS countries have held meetings in narrow and expanded formats to discuss pressing issues of the group’s activities and prospects for expanding partnerships across three main areas: politics and security, trade and investment, and cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

Following the tradition, a BRICS Plus/Outreach-format meeting was held as well. This format has a proven track record and provides an opportunity for holding a direct and open dialogue between BRICS states and our friends and partners from the Global South and East. This year, Russia, as the current chair of BRICS, invited leaders from the CIS countries and delegations from many Asian, African and Latin American countries, as well as heads of executive bodies of a number of international organisations to attend this meeting.

We exchanged views on key international issues with a focus on the escalation in the Middle East. We also explored prospects for cooperation between BRICS states and countries from the Global South and East in the interests of inclusive sustainable development.

Most importantly, all sessions and events that I just mentioned took place in a traditionally business-like and open atmosphere fostering mutual understanding that is customary for BRICS. This constructive approach to joint work allowed us to conduct an in-depth discussion of a wide range of issues over the course of three days.

The Kazan Declaration which summed up the discussions was approved at the summit. It is a comprehensive conceptual document with a positive forward-looking agenda. Importantly, it reaffirms the commitment of all BRICS countries to building a more democratic, inclusive, and multipolar world order based on international law and the UN Charter. It also underscores our collective determination to oppose the practice of imposing unlawful sanctions and attempts to erode traditional moral values.

BRICS countries are committed to deepening partnerships in the financial sphere. We will continue to enhance interbank communication and to work on creating mechanisms for payments in national currencies that are immune to external risks.

During the Summit, we also discussed at length possible joint efforts to further stimulate investment in order to promote economic growth in BRICS states and countries of the Global South and East. We will engage, among other means, the New Development Bank led by its President Dilma Rousseff.

Russia proposed extending Brazil’s presidency and the presidency of Dilma Rousseff at this bank, since Brazil is presiding over the G20 this year, and next year it will take on the BRICS presidency. Let us face it, with the situation around Russia in mind, we believe this approach will help the institutions which we want to see developing further avoid challenges that are specific to Russia. We will manage these challenges effectively on our own.

There are promising prospects for bolstering sectoral cooperation and implementing new projects in industry, energy, logistics, high technology and many other key areas. Naturally, there is also potential for enhancing collaboration among our nations in the realms of culture, science, and sports, as well as through youth and civic organisations.
In Kazan, we reaffirmed that BRICS is not a closed format; it is open to all those who share BRICS values. The group's members are prepared to work towards identifying joint solutions without external impositions or attempts to enforce narrow approaches upon anyone. BRICS is compelled to respond to the burgeoning demand in the world for such cooperation. Accordingly, we devoted particular attention to the matter of potential BRICS expansion through the establishment of a new category – that of partner states.

During these days, the leaders and members of the delegations engaged in numerous informal interactions. Many bilateral meetings, contacts, and discussions took place. Our delegation endeavoured to meet with leaders of the majority of the participating countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Summit has concluded. I wish to express my gratitude once again to all my colleagues, who travelled to Kazan, for their contributions to our collective efforts. I must highlight that their input was quite substantial.

Throughout our chairmanship, we have felt the vigorous support of our partners. This is crucial, particularly as it does not cease with the conclusion of the Summit. There are several significant joint undertakings to be completed before the year's end. As I have previously stated, next year we shall pass the baton of chairmanship to Brazil. Naturally, we shall extend all necessary assistance to our Brazilian friends. We will continue to coordinate closely with all BRICS partners to further enhance cooperation within this framework.

Furthermore, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the leadership of Tatarstan and the Kazan Mayor's Office for their hospitality and efforts to create a conducive environment for our joint work.

I also wish to apologise to the residents of Kazan for any inconvenience they may have experienced, such as moving motorcades and the closure of certain highways. However, I assure you that these disruptions were not in vain. I am grateful to you for creating such favourable conditions for our work. Thank you very much.

I must apologise in advance, but we are unable to engage in lengthy discussions with you, as I have several more bilateral meetings, approximately seven, and cannot keep my colleagues waiting. Nonetheless, if there are any questions, please feel free to ask.

Question: Anton Vernitsky, Channel One.

Mr President, could you please share the details about financial cooperation between BRICS countries? Was a common investment platform discussed? Was the creation of an alternative payment system, an alternative to SWIFT payment network, brought up?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Speaking of SWIFT or alternatives to it, we are not creating any alternatives to anything, but settlements are, indeed, a critical issue which is why we are using our respective national currencies, which is a well-known fact.

Regarding payment systems, we are using the Russian financial messaging system created by the Central Bank of Russia. Other BRICS countries also have their own systems, which we will also use, are already using and will continue to use.

However, we are not inventing a separate common system, since we are doing well with what we have. All we need to do is take timely administrative decisions, which we also discussed with our colleagues, and we will continue down that path.

Question: Good afternoon.

Ilya Yezhov, RIA Novosti.

Mr President, the Kazan forum was the first summit for BRICS not as a five-member group but as a group with a broader geographic representation. Discussions about expanding it are underway, and your colleagues, including today, were clear about their willingness to work more closely with BRICS. The BRICS partner country format has been explored as well.

Could you please share how this work is going and what is the key message that the Kazan Summit sent out regarding the further expansion of BRICS?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Indeed, I mentioned earlier that many countries are interested in joining this group. Thirty-five countries participated in the events in Kazan, and we agreed with our partners that we will approve a list of partner countries during the first phase of the potential expansion. This list has been agreed upon.

Some countries that took part in the events held yesterday and today have submitted their proposals and requests for a full-fledged participation in the work of the BRICS group.

Our next steps will be as follows: we will send out invitations and proposals to future partner countries for them to take part in our work in this capacity and, upon receiving positive responses, we will announce the countries on that list. It would be inappropriate to do so before we receive their responses, even though all these countries have previously filed requests.

Question: Good afternoon.

Viktor Sineok, MIC Izvestia.

It is known that the issue of the Ukraine conflict was raised during your numerous bilateral meetings. Could you please elaborate on the context in which you discussed the developments within the special military operation zone? In your opinion, how do the partners with whom you had discussions perceive this conflict, and did they express any support for our country?

Vladimir Putin: All the parties are in favour of resolving the conflict at the earliest opportunity, preferably through peaceful means. You may be aware that the People's Republic of China and Brazil put forward an initiative at the General Assembly in New York. Numerous BRICS nations endorse these initiatives, and we, in turn, extend our gratitude to our partners for their attention to this conflict and their pursuit of methods to resolve it.

Question: Mr President, Keir Simmons from NBC News.

Mr President, satellite images are said to show North Korean troops are here, in Russia. What are they doing here and wouldn’t that be a massive escalation in the Ukraine war?

And, Mr President, we are weeks away from US election. Russia again is accused of interfering, and that you have had private conversations with former President [Donald] Trump. Have you been speaking with him? And what have you been saying?

Vladimir Putin: Allow me to address the first part of your question.

Images are a serious matter. If images exist, they indicate something.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it was not Russia's actions that precipitated the escalation in Ukraine, but rather the 2014 coup d’etat, supported primarily by the United States. It was even publicly disclosed how much financial support the then US Administration allocated towards preparing and orchestrating this coup. Is this not a pathway to escalation?

Subsequently, we were misled for eight years with assurances that everyone sought to resolve the conflict in Ukraine
through peaceful means, specifically via the Minsk Agreements. Later on, and I am certain you have heard this as well, several European leaders openly admitted that they had been deceiving us, as they had used that time to arm the Ukrainian military. Is this not the case? It is indeed.

Further steps towards escalation involved Western countries actively arming the Kiev regime. What was the outcome? It led to the direct involvement of NATO troops in this conflict. We are aware of the actions undertaken and the methods employed when unmanned marine vehicles are deployed in the Black Sea. We know who is present there, from which European countries – NATO members they are, and how they conduct these operations.

The same applies to military instructors, not mercenaries, but military personnel. This also pertains to the deployment of high-precision modern weaponry, including missiles such as ATACMS, Storm Shadow, and so on. Ukrainian servicemen cannot execute these operations without space reconnaissance, target indication and Western software – requiring the direct involvement of officers from NATO countries.

With regard to our relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, you may be aware that the Treaty on Strategic Partnership was ratified, I believe, just today. It has Article 4, and we have never doubted the fact that the DPRK leadership takes our agreements seriously. However, it is up to us to decide what we will do and how we are going to do it, and we will act in accordance with this article. First, we need to hold talks regarding the implementation of Article 4. However, we will be in contact with our North Korean friends to see how this process unfolds.

In any case, the Russian army is acting confidently on all fronts, which is a well-known and undisputed fact. It is advancing on all sections of the frontline. Active operations are underway in the Kursk direction as well. A portion of the Ukrainian forces that invaded the Kursk Region, about 2,000 troops, has been blocked and encircled. Attempts are being made to break this group free from the outside and from within, but they have remained unsuccessful so far.

The Russian army has begun an operation to eliminate this group.

With regard to contacts with Mr Trump, this issue has been making headlines for years now. At one point, Mr Trump and Russia were accused of being connected. However, after an investigation conducted in the United States, everyone, including US Congress, concluded that it was utter nonsense and that nothing of the kind ever happened. There were no contacts back then, and there are none now.

Russia-US relations after the elections depend primarily on the United States. If the United States is open to building normal relations with Russia, we will do the same. If not, so be it. This is up to the future Administration.

Question: Good afternoon. Pavel Zarubin, Rossiya TV channel.

May I follow-up on your conversations with Mr Trump? The former US President, now a candidate for the US Presidency, has claimed that during one of his telephone conversations with you, he supposedly threatened to strike the centre of Moscow. Is there any truth to this assertion?

Furthermore, is it possible to threaten you at all? Do threats have any impact on you? How do you perceive the fact that, in the current landscape of high-level politics, conversations between leaders are increasingly being exposed to the public domain, if that story is true?

Additionally, if I may, a question regarding BRICS Summit: do you currently feel isolated? Do you perhaps miss engaging with your Western counterparts?

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Regarding the first part of your question, as to whether it is possible to use threats. Well, you can threaten anyone. However, it serves no purpose to threaten Russia, as it merely strengthens our resolve. I do not recall having such a conversation with Mr Trump. This is undoubtedly a very intense phase of the electoral campaign in the United States, and I would advise against taking statements of this nature too seriously. However, what Mr Trump has recently expressed, which I have heard, is his wish to do everything possible to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. I think he is sincere about that. Statements of this nature, regardless of their origin, are certainly welcomed by us.

You know, we receive various signals from our Western partners concerning potential contacts. We have not isolated ourselves from such engagements. When it is alleged that we refuse, or I refuse, to engage in conversations or maintain contacts, including with European leaders, I must clarify that this is untrue. We do not refuse, we have never refused, and we are not refusing now. If anyone wishes to restore relations with us, they are welcome to do so. We constantly repeat this, although we do not impose ourselves upon others.

As you can observe, we continue to live and work normally, and our economy is developing. Last year, our growth was between 3.4 and 3.6 percent; this year, it is projected to be around four percent or perhaps 3.9 percent. Meanwhile, the eurozone's economy is on the verge of recession. In the United States, there is growth, estimated at about 3.1 to 3.2 percent, which is not bad. However, they also face significant challenges, including deficits in three major areas: foreign trade deficit, payments deficit, and a huge debt, which, I believe, stands at US$34 trillion.

We, too, encounter challenges, but it is preferable that we refrain from disputes or conflicts and instead focus on how to address these issues collaboratively. This is precisely what we are doing within the BRICS framework.

Question retranslated): Thank you very much.

A journalist from Cameroon.

Mr President,

Our team is just back from Donbass. We are putting together a documentary to show how things really are in Donbass and to tell everyone what it means for Africa.

Mr President, we are aware of the fact that many African countries have fallen victims to terrorism and other destabilising actions. At the same time, we see Russia helping the Central African Republic and other Sahel countries. Before Russia’s involvement, other countries were present there, but only after Russia had come in the situation stabilised in many of these countries. So, my question is: is it not time for Russia to deepen this kind of partnership with African states not only in the military sphere, but in other spheres as well?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I fully agree with you. This is the point of our cooperation with BRICS partner countries. Creating an investment platform within BRICS is precisely the goal of our efforts.

We believe that in the near future – I have just spoken with my colleagues at the conclusion of today’s Summit – our experts suggest that the economies of countries like Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and others will develop at a steady and positive pace. However, there are regions around the world where growth will go at a very fast pace. These are primarily South Asian and African countries. This is exactly why we, within BRICS, are addressing the issue of creating a new investment platform using the latest electronic tools. The goal is to create a system that could – surprisingly enough it is an achievable goal – be non-inflationary and to create proper conditions for investing in efficiently and quickly developing markets worldwide, especially in Africa.

Why do we think that? I believe many will agree with me. There are several reasons for that.

First, these countries are experiencing significant population growth. In Africa… Yesterday, I spoke with the Prime Minister of India. They have a yearly population growth of ten million people. That means ten million more people in India every year. Africa is growing rapidly as well.

Second, these regions of the world are less urbanised, but urbanisation will definitely ramp up, and both people and countries will strive to catch up with the living standards in other regions of the world, including Europe.
All of that, and some other factors, shows that growth rates… Yes, and capital accumulation will happen as well, and is already happening. All of this suggests that we should focus on these regions around the world.

We, in BRICS, are trying to create a working group at the BRICS New Development Bank in order to develop mechanisms for effective and reliable investment in these countries. I believe this will benefit everyone, including the investors and the recipient countries. New production facilities will be created, which will be efficient and ensure return on investment.

To achieve this, we need to create tools that are immune to external risks, especially those of political nature. I think we can do this. This is the path we will follow.

Thank you. This is a very important question.

Steven Rosenberg, BBC: I have read the final BRICS statement, which refers to the need for global and regional stability, security and just peace. In general, the motto of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship includes such notions, it seems to me – justice and security. But how does all this relate to your actions in the last two and a half years, with the invasion of Ukraine? Where is justice, stability and security, including the security of Russia? Because there were no drone attacks on Russian territory, no shelling of Russian cities, and no foreign troops occupying Russian territory before the start of the special military operation – this did not happen.

And last: how does this all fit in with the recent statement by British intelligence that Russia has set out to wreak havoc on the streets of Britain and Europe with arson, sabotage and so on? Where is the stability?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I will start with Russia’s security because it is the most important thing for me.

You have mentioned drone attacks and so on. Yes, this was not the case, but there was a much worse situation.

The situation was that we were constantly put in our place as we made constant and persistent proposals to establish contacts and relations with the countries of the Western. I can say this for sure. It seemed kind of gentle, but basically, we were always put in our place.

And eventually that placing would have led Russia to the category of second-rate countries to only function as raw material appendages with the loss of the country's sovereignty to a certain degree and to a large extent. In such a capacity Russia is unable not only to develop, it just cannot exist. Russia cannot exist if it loses its sovereignty. This is what matters most. Russia’s breaking away from that condition, strengthening its sovereignty and economic, financial and military independence amounts to our security being increased and conditions being created for Russia to steadily develop in the future as an independent, full-fledged and self-sufficient state, with the kind of partners we have in BRICS, who respect Russia's independence, respect our traditions, and whom we treat the same way.

As for justice in the spheres of development and security, I have my arguments regarding this, and I will try to answer your question. Here are my points.

What is justice as applied to development? Consider the recent events that took place during the coronavirus pandemic. What happened at that time? I would like to draw your attention and the attention of all the other media representatives to this issue. During that period, the United States printed about $6 trillion, and the Eurozone countries printed about $3 trillion or slightly more than that. All that money was used in the global market to buy everything and anything, primarily food but also medicines and vaccines, which are now being destroyed en masse because they are past their sell-by date. They placed all these products on the market, thereby provoking food inflation and various other kinds of inflation worldwide.

What did the world’s leading economies do? They abused their exclusive positions in global finance, in terms of both the dollar and the euro. They printed money and used it to buy up the products they needed the most. They – you – consume more than they produce or have the money to buy. Is this fair? We do not think so, and we would like to change this. This is what BRICS is doing.

Now, about security in general. I have already presented my views regarding Russia’s security. I see what you mean. But is it fair in terms of security that you have for years disregarded our repeated requests to our partners not to expand NATO eastward? Is it fair that you lied through your teeth, saying that the bloc would not expand while doing precisely that in violation of your commitments? Is it fair that you have moved into our underbelly, that is Ukraine, and started building – not preparing to build but actually building military bases there? Is this fair?

Is it fair that you staged a government coup, which I spoke about when answering your colleague’s question, in complete disregard of international law and all the tenets of international law and the UN Charter? Is it fair that you financed a government coup in a foreign country, specifically Ukraine, and pushed the situation there towards a hot phase? Is this fair in terms of global security?

Is it fair that you violated your commitments within the OSCE, when all Western countries signed a document stating that no country may ensure its security at the expense of other countries? We warned you against doing this – against expanding NATO – because it infringed on our security. But you did it nevertheless. Is this fair?

This is not fair. We want to change this, and we will change it.

Could you repeat the last part of the question, please?

Question: It concerns claims by UK intelligence that Russia is generating mayhem on British streets.

Vladimir Putin: Look, thank you for repeating this part of your question, but it is absolute drivel.

You see, the domestic policies of these states have led to the scenes we have been witnessing on the streets in some European cities. However, you and I know all too well, and I have already mentioned this in my remarks, that the European economy is teetering on the brink of a recession, while the Euro zone’s leading economies have de facto entered a recession. Even if they do succeed in expanding their economies by a meagre 0.5 percent, this would be attributable to the south, where there are no major manufacturers, as well as to the real estate sector, tourism, etc. But are we to be blamed for that? What do we have to do with this?

All of a sudden, Western countries, I mean European nations, decided not to use our fuel and energy. We have never turned our backs on them. By the way, there is still a functional pipeline in the Baltic Sea – it is part of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. All the German authorities have to do is just press a button to resume supplies. But they are not doing this for political reasons, while their main partner engineered a situation – go figure why and for what reason – that has forced an entire sector of the German economy to move to the United States because the government there offers a more favourable business environment. The primary sources of energy there are three times cheaper than in Europe, if I am not mistaken, or maybe four times, and the tax framework is also different. They know what they are doing. But what do we have to do with all this?

Faced with deteriorating living standards and a higher cost of living, people have responded accordingly. This is quite obvious, and statistics from these European countries make this abundantly clear. But what do we have to do with all this? How can anyone blame us for that? This amounts to shifting the blame onto others and trying to avoid responsibility for erroneous economic and domestic policies.

As far as the economy is concerned, I think this is quite obvious to any impartial expert. However, there have been widespread attempts in Europe and other countries, as well as in the United States to abuse the environmental agenda and climate change-related matters, and they are still doing this. They are running ahead of the train for no particular reason, since the technology has yet to reach a point where these actions would make sense. They are closing everything related to nuclear power generation, or coal, which started even earlier, and in general have launched this crackdown on hydrocarbons.

But has anyone done the math? Can Africa get along without these hydrocarbons? The answer is no. They are trying to impose the latest tools and solutions for preserving the environment on African countries, as well as several other developing markets, but these countries have no money to pay for them. Just give them the money then. But no, they are not getting it. At the same time, I believe that the tools the West uses are neo-colonial practices consisting of humiliating these countries and making them dependent on Western technology and loans. They engage in predatory lending practices so that these countries would never be able to repay them. This is yet another neo-colonial tool.

This is why we have to start by looking at what the West has achieved with its economic, financial and domestic policies. Of course, people get scared whenever the international situation deteriorates or when they witness escalation in various conflict zones, be it the Middle East or Ukraine. But we are not the ones behind this escalation. It is always the other side that seeks to escalate tension.

But we are ready for this escalation. It is up to you to decide whether the countries who are doing this are also ready.

Question: Areej Muhammad, Moscow bureau for Sky News Arabia, United Arab Emirates.

Mr President, a number of reports suggest that Moscow may provide support to Iran in the event of an Israeli attack. What do you think of these reports? Do they accurately reflect the situation? Is Russia considering assistance during this round of escalation in the region?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: First of all, we are very concerned about what is happening in the region. No matter what anyone says, Russia is not interested in further aggravating this conflict. Strategically, we stand to gain nothing from it; we will only face additional problems.

As for assistance to Iran, first of all, we maintain close contact with the Iranian leadership. Of course, we do. We see our role as facilitating a settlement, above all, by [helping the sides] reach compromises. I believe this is possible. In fact, no one in that region – the meetings I had on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit confirm this – that no one in the region wants further escalation. No one wants a major war there.

Question: Mr President,

Tursunbek Akun, Kyrgyzstan. I chair the human rights organisation of Kyrgyzstan. I am also the coordinator of the human rights congress in Central Asia. I represent not only Kyrgyzstan, but also the public of all Central Asian countries.

First of all, I congratulate you on the excellent organisation of the BRICS Summit. Like many people around the world, I can hardly envy you for being the President of the Russian Federation. This is an extremely heavy burden, but no matter how heavy it is, you are carrying it with honour.

The West has been trying to isolate Russia from the rest of the world for almost three years, but today that attempt ended in a complete failure. This is confirmed by the results of the BRICS Summit, where your political and state stance was supported by about 35 countries. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other international organisations are attending this Summit.

Today, historic events occurred on Russian soil, in Kazan, marking the moment when the multipolar world finally gained the upper hand. The unipolar world led by the United States is gradually losing its significance and ground. The BRICS Plus leaders’ meeting featured discussions on the most complex issues concerning the Middle East, where Israel has been refusing to comply with the UN resolution, and openly ignoring UN decisions. In fact, the UN Secretary-General was declared persona non grata there. Iran launched a massive strike on Israel, and now Israel is announcing retaliatory actions. According to open sources, it is preparing to bomb Iran’s oil and nuclear facilities.

I have a question and a suggestion. US military forces are patrolling the Persian Gulf to help Israel. Should the BRICS countries, chaired by Russia, take steps to offset the unilateral domination of the United States and Israel and give an appropriate response to their actions if they start a war against other states? Along with US warships now patrolling off the Gulf shores, Russian warships and those of other BRICS countries should also be present to support Iran, Palestine, and Lebanon. This alone should put an end to the lawless actions of the United States and Israel.
And the second question, Mr President. The United States and the West are making every effort to denigrate you once again by claiming that the President of Russia is refusing to negotiate. However, you have laid out your demands and conditions before Zelensky’s Swiss summit. They did not accept them. Do your demands remain unchanged? I am sure you never refused to negotiate, did you?

Vladimir Putin: A colleague asked about our relations with Iran and our readiness to provide assistance.
First, a few words about the situation in the Middle East. I spoke about it earlier today and would like to repeat it here. I believe that there is no person on Earth whose heart does not bleed when they see what is happening in Gaza. Over 40,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed. Our position on this is clear, and you know it. We have stated it clearly, including how the situation can be resolved. The solution can only be found by addressing the root causes, the primary one being the lack of a fully recognised, sovereign Palestinian state. It is necessary to implement all relevant UN Security Council resolutions on this matter.

However, we must engage with all participants in the process and, under no circumstances, allow the conflict to escalate or intensify. This includes working with Israel, which, it must be acknowledged, faced a terrorist attack in October of last year.

We must carefully and calmly analyse the situation, ensuring that disproportionate responses to these terror acts are not encouraged. It is essential to engage with all sides and work towards de-escalation, including along the Lebanese track. I believe this is achievable overall, but it requires very careful action. To be honest, I have to take great care as I speak, because every careless word could harm this delicate process. On the whole, I would like to thank you for raising this issue, as it is of utmost importance.

Regarding negotiations with Ukraine, I have spoken on this many times before. We are grateful to President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who once provided a platform for talks with the Ukrainian delegation. At the end of 2022, through these negotiations, we reached a potential agreement, a draft peace accord. The Ukrainian delegation had initialled it, which meant they were satisfied with it – but then they suddenly backed out.

Recently, Turkiye once again reached out, with President Erdogan’s aide calling from New York, saying there were new proposals for negotiations that they asked us to consider. I agreed and said we were open to it. The next day, however, the head of the Kiev regime abruptly announced that they were not planning to negotiate with us. We told our Turkish colleagues: “Thank you for your efforts, but first, please clarify with your clients whether they actually want negotiations or not. Let them say it outright.” As far as we know, in Ukraine’s parliament, instead of hearing any proposals for peace, another plan was announced – a so-called victory plan. Well, alright then.

As for the victory: last year, during their so-called counteroffensive operation, Ukraine’s losses amounted to around 16,000 personnel, both killed and permanently wounded. Now, just in the last month or so, in the Kursk theatre alone, losses have reached 26,000 – again, in irreparable losses and casualties. As for equipment, during last year’s counteroffensive, they lost about 18,000 pieces of military hardware, if I remember correctly. Now that number has increased by almost another thousand. True, they lost nearly 100 fewer tanks, but I believe that is because they are simply using fewer tanks due to a shortage in the Ukrainian army.

However, rather than listing such numbers, it would be better to face the realities on the ground and sit down at the negotiating table. But the Kiev regime does not want that. I think this is partly because starting peace talks would require lifting martial law, and immediately after that, they would have to hold presidential elections. It seems they are not ready for that yet. But the ball is in their court.

Question: Could you tell us what you would be willing to accept for ending the war in Ukraine, and where is the limit?
Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I have just told you that we are ready to discuss a peace agreement in any shape or form based on the reality on the ground. That is to say, I am not ready to accept anything else.

Question (retranslated): Thank you very much, Mr President.

I am from Saudi Arabia.

It can be argued that the BRICS group has already moved beyond the stage when it could be referred to as a platform. Can we refer to it as some kind of a centralised governance framework at this juncture?

I think that BRICS needs some form of a centralised governance framework at this current stage in its development, or a body that would serve as a hub for managing all these contacts around the world. For example, one country may be chairing BRICS today, only to be replaced by another country tomorrow, which could be less effective in this role.
My second point on this matter concerns Russia’s desire to create a mechanism of this kind for working with its partners. Would it be possible for the Central Bank and the New Development Bank, which already exists, to work with other similar banks in other countries? After all, we do need funds for promoting mutual investment.
My final question is whether you have discussed Saudi Arabia’s accession to BRICS?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Let me start with the way we operate the BRICS group. Of course, institutionalising this group has become an obvious imperative for us. You were spot on when you said that we need to give this group a structure. Of course, my colleagues and I will think about it and will work on this matter. Overall, every participating country is unique and self-sufficient, in its own way. At the same time, we are all sincere in our commitment to developing and strengthening our union. Therefore, I do not think that BRICS could fail in any way. I do not see this happening.
At the same time, we would prefer not to create too much red tape within BRICS, so that we have all these officials driving luxury cars and employing all the staff members they need, getting generous salaries, while no one has a clear understanding of who is doing what. That said, I do agree that we need to bring more structure into our efforts, so this is something we can think about.

As for the bank, as I mentioned earlier, we already have the New Development Bank. For now, it operates on a rather modest scale, having provided funding for 100 projects worth about $32-$33 billion. As for investment, this is an extremely important topic. It is instrumental for Saudi Arabia, Russia and other countries like China and India to ensure that their investment in emerging markets is reliable and safe. This is something that really matters to us. Our proposals on establishing a new investment platform are designed to achieve this goal.

As for Saudi Arabia, let me assure you that we have been maintaining effective ties with the Crown Prince, who is our friend, as well as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques – the King of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s representatives took part in our work today, and we hope that this cooperation expands and gains momentum in the future.

Question (retranslated): My name is Bianca, and I am a reporter for GloboNews, the principal television network in Brazil.

My question pertains to Venezuela. Yesterday, you expressed gratitude to President Nicolas Maduro for his endeavours, including his participation in BRICS. However, Brazil opposes this. I would like to ascertain which side Russia supports and whether Venezuela could join BRICS despite Brazil's objections.

Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, you also expressed appreciation to Brazil and China for their efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine through political means. I would like to inquire, on a scale of one to ten, what probability you assign to the success of this peace plan in Ukraine? Additionally, what, in your view, is utterly unacceptable?

Vladimir Putin: First and foremost, with regard to the probability, it is challenging for me, and I believe it would be inappropriate, to provide any numerical assessment from one to ten. This is due, in part, to the fact that… I do not wish to sound discourteous, but the attempts to initiate negotiations followed by the abandonment of such initiatives… I have mentioned that a high-ranking representative from Turkiye contacted us directly from New York. Prior to this, Turkiye had also proposed an initiative concerning the situation in the Black Sea, aimed at ensuring safe and free navigation, as well as discussing and formalising certain arrangements and agreements related to the security of nuclear power facilities. We agreed to this. However, the leader of the Kiev regime subsequently declared publicly: no negotiations. We conveyed to our Turkish friends: you should resolve this matter; you present us with a proposal referencing them, we agree, and then we receive a refusal merely a day later – what does that signify? They simply shrugged, indicating the complexity of dealing with such partners.

Why do I assert that it is exceedingly difficult to evaluate this on a scale from one to ten? The behaviour of the Ukrainian leadership today is highly irrational. Trust me, I am well-informed on this matter. I shall refrain from offering further evaluations at this juncture. For instance, I believe their provocations in the Kursk Region are associated with attempts to influence the internal political situation and the electoral process in the United States. They seek, at any cost, to demonstrate to the current Administration and its electorate and the party that their investments in Ukraine have not been futile. They are utilising all means, regardless of the cost, including the lives of their soldiers. They are working for them, not for the interests of the Ukrainian people. Thus, it is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to assess the situation using any kind of scale.

Turning to Brazil and its perspective on the ongoing developments in Venezuela, we know what they think about it. Russia and Brazil hold different views regarding Venezuela. I discussed this with the President of Brazil the other day. Otherwise, we have developed very good, friendly relations. At least this is how I see it.

Venezuela is fighting for its independence and sovereignty. I remember a time – it happened after the previous election – when an opposition leader came to a square, looked up at the sky and proclaimed in front of the Lord thy God that he viewed himself as President. How ridiculous.

At the time, we discussed this situation with the US leadership. After all, they supported, and still support, the opposition. But they did not say anything at the time, and just smiled in response. That was it. What an awkward situation, right? Anyone can step outside, look at the sky and say that he or she can be anyone, why not the Pope, for that matter. But this is not how it works. This is not how it is supposed to happen. There are specific election procedures. Go to the polls and win an election.

We believe that President Maduro won the election, and that the election was fair. He has formed his government, and we wish his government and the people of Venezuela every success.

I do hope that Brazil and Venezuela will be able to iron out their differences bilaterally. I know President Lula to be a very descent and honest man, and I am certain he will take an impartial and unbiased position on this situation. During our telephone conversation, he asked me to convey a message to the President of Venezuela. I hope that the situation improves.

As for enabling Venezuela, or any other country for that matter, to join BRICS, I can say that this can only be achieved by consensus. We have a rule whereby all countries within this group must give their consent for accepting any other applicants into the BRICS group. This is the only way this can be done.

I beg your indulgence, but my colleagues are waiting for me at a bilateral meeting. This is a hard choice for me: I can stay here and talk to you, or go to the meeting. So, please, forgive me, and do not hold it against me.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Head of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit, and Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev.

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Beginning of Russian-Lao talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends, Once again, I warmly welcome you all and would like to thank you, above all, for your participation in the BRICS Summit.

We assume that our group is a prototype of multipolarity, a structure that consolidates the Global South and East. I appreciate your comprehensive remarks. I have warm memories of our meeting in May, when you visited Moscow to participate in the celebrations marking the 79^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. We will be glad to see you in Moscow at the celebrations of the 80^th anniversary of Victory next year.

Our relations are of a mutually beneficial nature and have already reached the level of strategic partnership. This March we celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the Treaty on Amity, and next year we will celebrate the 65^th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.

The absolute volumes of trade are still modest, but the trend is nevertheless very good, and it is increasing many times over.

We have close positions on most international issues. It is very important that the Lao chairmanship of the ASEAN promotes its cooperation with Russia, and we are very grateful to you for that.

We are very pleased with your visit, Mr President, and I thank you once again.

President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith (retranslated): Thank you, Mr President, for finding the time to meet with our delegation today.

It has been five months since we met and I won't take much of your time because you have a very busy schedule. So, I would like to reiterate some points of cooperation between our countries

I want to congratulate you on successfully holding the 16^th BRICS Summit, and I think that Russia’s role will grow in the international arena after this event. Following our May’s meeting we discussed banking and financial cooperation, and our central banks are already cooperating.

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Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov.

* * *
Beginning of Russian-Palestinian talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends,

During your visit to Moscow in August, we engaged in extensive discussions, exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, reviewed crucial aspects of Russian-Palestinian cooperation, and also concurred that you would attend the BRICS summit in Kazan to continue our dialogue.

Regrettably, since our previous meeting, the situation in the region has not improved; on the contrary, it is deteriorating. The tragic events in the Gaza Strip have already led to more than 40,000 deaths and provoked tensions in Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East. Tensions are also escalating in the West Bank. We all bear witness to this.

Russia's principled position is consistent and absolutely impartial: we firmly advocate for an early cessation of bloodshed and the provision of humanitarian access to all those in need. We urge all parties to exercise restraint.
A lasting peace in the region can only be achieved through a political and diplomatic settlement based on recognised international legal grounds and platform, which provide for the establishment of an independent sovereign Palestinian State that would coexist in peace and security with Israel.

Russia has traditionally devoted special attention to the Middle East settlement issue. Among other efforts, we have been addressing this issue during our BRICS chairmanship. As you observed at the meeting and during bilateral contacts, BRICS countries have similar approaches. This was affirmed both by the extraordinary BRICS summit on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the discussion that took place here in Kazan.

Of course, Russia cannot overlook the needs of the people. As you are aware, we have transferred over 800 tonnes of supplies, including food and medicine, to the Palestinians. Naturally, we will do everything within our power to steer the situation towards the resolution of all the problems in this area.

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas (retranslated): Our meeting today and this day itself are of critical importance to us.

The events held within BRICS under your chairmanship were a success. As you mentioned, we met in August and had extensive discussions about Palestine-Russia relations. We are pleased with the strong stance that the Russian Federation has adopted to support the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people’s sovereign right to achieve their goals, including the establishment of our own state. The Palestinian people highly appreciate this, Mr President.

We were very pleased to hear what you had to say in your remarks, where you addressed all issues that we find important. A significant portion of what you said covered the Palestinian issue, which is of our deep concern, and everyone heard it. During today’s session, you said many important things, and I would like to thank you for that.
The events and activities of the BRICS Summit have left a strong impression on us. We stand ready to assist you in promoting cooperation within this framework and, God willing, someday we will join BRICS as a group member, a partner, or an observer. We are ready to contribute in any capacity.

Mr President, you mentioned the ongoing developments in the Palestinian territories. It is indeed a tragedy: more than 40,000 people died, 100,000 were injured, and 10,000 are missing. All of that happened in the Gaza Strip. Seventy percent of infrastructure, including organisations, hospitals, homes, and buildings, has been destroyed.

What do we want? We only seek a cessation of hostilities, something that everyone else is calling for as well. We hope to achieve this, and having done that, we can start bringing in humanitarian aid and increasing its volumes in order to alleviate the suffering of civilians. We need to bring in clothing, food, water, and medicine.

There is another important point that I must address. The Palestinians will never leave Gaza, just as they will never leave the West Bank of the Jordan River. This is crucial. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is trying to do just that, to expel Palestinians from their native lands, but we will never agree to that.

We are aware of the fact that both Egypt on Gaza’s side and the Jordanians on the West Bank of the Jordan River’s side do not support this policy and denounce it. Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian state. Therefore, we are determined to work on putting an end to the occupation so that we can live in a united Palestinian state as one with Gaza and the West Bank.

We know there was a coup in Gaza in 2007, and Hamas came to power. But we have never thought of this part of our country as a foreign body.

Also, Mr President, you have called for a dialogue on the Palestinian issue. We agree with that. Most importantly, it should take place within the internationally legitimate framework. We support this idea. We thank you for your efforts and attention to the Palestinian cause.

Moreover, Mr President, the United States and some Arab countries are making appeals that we find unclear. We disagree with them and see them as interference in our domestic affairs. When I say this, I mean they want to appoint certain individuals to specific positions.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut.
* * *

Beginning of Russian-Mauritanian talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, I am delighted to meet with you. We appreciate your decision to personally visit Kazan not only as head of state but also as chairperson of the African Union, and to attend the BRICS Summit’s events.

The strengthening of cooperation with the dynamically developing African countries is one of BRICS priorities in the outreach format. Mauritania’s representatives took an active part in the group’s events organised during Russia’s chairmanship this year.

Russia has developed close and constructive relations with the African Union. We appreciate the practical activities of that organisation in politics and the economy, as well as in ensuring security on the African continent. We welcome the African Union’s decision to join the G20 as a full member. For our part, we are providing all-round assistance to this process.

Russia’s trade with Africa is growing with each passing year. It increased by over 30 percent in 2023 and continued to grow this year. From January to July, our mutual trade increased by another 25 percent year on year.

The two Russia-Africa summits, which were held with the direct and proactive assistance of the African Union, one in Sochi in 2019 and the other in St Petersburg in 2023, have given a fresh impetus to the further development of Russia’s relations with African countries. We are actively working together to implement the important documents adopted as a result of these summits.

As for our bilateral relations, Russia and Mauritania developed close ties back in the middle of the 20th century, and we continue to strengthen them on the principles of friendship, mutual respect and a balance of national interests.
This year, we will mark the 60th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. We have accumulated a wealth of positive experience in the area of mutually beneficial cooperation over that period.

We maintain regular political dialogue at various levels. Our foreign ministers keep in touch with each other. We are working consistently to strengthen the legal framework of our relationship. We have developed close ties in education. We have trained over 3,500 Mauritanian professionals. Mr President, we are delighted by the growing interest of your young people in studying in Russia.

Russia and Mauritania often take a common stance on the international stage, which helps us develop our relations on the same basis within the framework of the BRICS Plus/Outreach format.

Mr President, we highly value your support for Russia’s initiatives at the UN and other multilateral forums and venues.
We are delighted that you are attending the BRICS Summit. Thank you for coming to Kazan.

President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani (retranslated): Thank you, Your Excellency.
Mr President, first of all, I would like to thank you and express our appreciation for inviting us to this summit and for the warm reception and hospitality accorded to us, to me personally and to our delegation upon our arrival in Russia.

Your Excellency, I would like to congratulate you on the success of the 16th BRICS Summit, and to express my gratitude for this opportunity to exchange views in the expanded BRICS Plus format.

I had no hesitation in accepting your invitation, not only because it is an extremely important summit but also because
I wanted to meet with you personally in order to openly discuss our bilateral relations and Russia’s relations with the African continent.

We in Mauritania believe that our relations with Russia, our historical and strategic relations are important to us, and we will spare no effort to strengthen and further develop them. In this connection, I would like to mention the historical ties of friendship that we share, which form the basis for the further development of our relations. As you rightly pointed out, our relations have been growing stronger over the past 60 years.

I highly appreciate the constant support you have provided to the development of our country since Mauritania gained independence, including by giving our young people an opportunity to study in various fields and disciplines at Soviet and Russian universities.

We continue to develop our cooperation in priority spheres, in particular, fishing, higher education and trade. We highly appreciate it that our cooperation is based on trust, mutual respect and a balance of each other’s interests.

I would like to reaffirm my personal commitment to promoting cooperation with Russia. We would be delighted and would appreciate it if more Russian investors came to Mauritania, in particular, in fishing, agriculture, energy and natural resources, to make use of what we have to offer in these spheres in the interests of cooperation.

Our cooperation should be shaped within the framework of an intergovernmental commission, which will promote the strengthening and further development of our relationship in all spheres.

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.
* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President,
I am delighted to see you in Russia again. Your visit to St Petersburg in June was very fruitful. We held substantive talks and attended the plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Russian-Bolivian cooperation is based on the solid traditions of friendship and mutual respect. Our bilateral ties are developing consistently across many spheres, including politics, the economy, trade, education and culture. Our countries have similar views on the fundamental principles of international order, and we are working jointly at the UN.
We appreciate your decision to accept our invitation to attend the BRICS Summit in Kazan. I hope you are not disappointed. During the expanded session in the BRICS Plus/Outreach format today, we heard the strong voice of Latin America, which is represented by the heads of many regional states that share the fundamental goals and principles of our group. We listened with great interest to your assessment of the current geopolitical situation, which you made during your address.

I believe that the summit was a success. We can see that the Global Majority countries increasingly see BRICS as a truly authoritative group that the international community needs.

During our meeting today, we will be able to discuss the most relevant issues of our bilateral cooperation and also issues on the multilateral agenda.

We are delighted to see you, Mr President. Once again, welcome to Russia.

President of Bolivia Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (retranslated): President Putin, thank you very much for the warm reception. We are always happy to attend such events and to have the opportunity to engage in direct dialogue on various subjects with you.

The main issue of concern to us today in the context of recent news is the status of a BRICS partner country. Does this mean that we can become a full member? How are such questions considered? Also, does the BRICS modality offer access to full membership? This is the topmost question I would like to discuss with you today in light of the latest media reports.

<…>

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova, First Deputy Central Bank Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin, CEO of Zarubezhneft Sergei Kudryashov, and CEO of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Alexei Likhachev.
* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Comrade Pham Minh Chinh, friends,

Welcome to Kazan. Once again, allow me to warmly welcome you to Russia.

I have warm memories from my recent visit to Vietnam and the conversation we had. It was a rewarding event for our entire delegation. We received a very warm welcome, and from the start, we felt that we were in a friendly country, in a welcoming atmosphere, among friends.

Next year will mark the 75^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Our political dialogue is intensive and substantive, along with ongoing interaction at the level of parliaments, ministries, government agencies, political parties and public associations.

Trade is on the rise. In 2023, we saw an 8.3 percent increase in mutual trade, reaching $5 billion, and in January-August 2024, it grew by as much as 25 percent.

The Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation is working smoothly, and the agreements reached at the highest and intergovernmental levels are being consistently implemented. Russia and Vietnam are cooperating in the energy sector, industrial production, agriculture, and education. This year, we have allocated an additional quota of 1,000 state-funded places for Vietnamese students at Russian universities.

Friends, we are grateful to each of you for participating in the Kazan Summit. Thank you for your informative remarks at today’s meeting. We strongly support Vietnam’s interest in participating in the BRICS group’s multifaceted activities.
Please convey my warmest greetings to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Comrade To Lam. I would like to repeat that we are looking forward to his visit to Russia.

I know that the National Assembly of Vietnam has recently made important personnel decisions, electing a new head of state, comrade Luong Cuong. In this regard, I would like to ask you to extend my congratulations to him on my behalf on his appointment to this high office.

Thank you.

Prime Minister of Vietnam Phạm Minh Chinh (retranslated): Comrade Vladimir Putin. Russian colleagues.
I extend my sincere gratitude for your warm words and sentiments towards Vietnam.

Comrade President Vladimir Putin, on the occasion of your birthday, on October 7, I previously conveyed my best wishes to you. Today, allow me to reiterate those greetings. I have brought you a gift as well – two dragons, one small and one large. In Vietnam and across Asia, the dragon is regarded as the supreme symbol of power. The small dragon signifies the power within Russia, while the large dragon represents your influence outside Russia, across the globe. Within our Asian horoscope, there are 12 animals, with the dragon symbolising the most significant power. I am aware that you were born under the sign of the dragon.

Vladimir Putin: That is precisely correct. Thank you very much.

Phạm Minh Chinh: Allow me to extend my congratulations to Russia. Despite encountering numerous challenges, you continue to demonstrate remarkable economic growth, surpassing the average development rate worldwide. This attests to the internal capacity and self-sufficiency of your economy, and the development opportunities within your country. Each day, you are enhancing your role, position, and reputation on the global stage.

This reflects the Russian character, Russian nature, Russian culture, and Russian values. It exemplifies your resilience in the face of difficulties, challenges, or any adversaries. This serves as an example for us.

I wish to express my gratitude for inviting Vietnam to participate in the BRICS Heads of State meeting in 2024. Let me also extend my congratulations to you on your success in organising this summit, which you are chairing this year.
I would also like to express my appreciation for your warm words towards our nation's leaders. Allow me to convey the sincere greetings from General Secretary Tho Lam, President Luong Cuong, and Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Manh, along with the leadership of the party and the state.

Our leaders have been closely monitoring the BRICS Summit and are very pleased with your achievements and Russia's accomplishments in organising this event.

Every time I visit Russia, I feel as though I am returning home to family. We will never forget the tremendous support, impartiality, sincerity, and righteous assistance that the Russian people have extended to Vietnam during the struggle for our nation's independence, the unification of our country in the past, and the ongoing efforts in building and developing our nation.

Witnessing the magnificent beauty, outstanding development, and significant accomplishments of Russia in all fields under your leadership, I am reminded of the profound meaning of the Soviet song ”Where the Motherland Begins.“ I am aware of your fondness for this song.

For Vietnam, Russia has consistently been one of our primary, most important, and comprehensive strategic partners, and we regard you with respect and warm feelings. These sentiments will remain unchanged.
<…>

Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, welcome to Kazan.

The last time we met was not so long ago, but time flies quickly. We met in St Petersburg in June, and before that, in February, at the Games of the Future. Now we are meeting in Kazan.

It is important that Russia’s cooperation with Republika Srpska is very hands-on and is progressing in the spirit of mutual respect, as it should be between fraternal nations.

Our political contacts are expanding. Our colleagues on both sides maintain constant contact in political and economic affairs alike. We are aware of the challenges you are facing and the trials you have to go through. However, we are confident that with your moral fibre and the resolve to defend your national interests that the people living in Republika Srpska are showing, you will be able to overcome all difficulties.

I am delighted to see you and I would like to thank you for visiting Kazan to take part in the BRICS Summit. I hope it has been useful, at least in terms of being updated on what was happening at the BRICS Summit. I am sure that you had useful business contacts during this event.

I am very happy to see you.

President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik (retranslated): Mr President,

I would like to greet you and express my gratitude for the warm welcome we received and for the invitation to Kazan to attend the high-profile meeting that you have organised here. This summit is evidence of the free world seeking to unite and cooperate to counter those who wish to influence other countries’ internal affairs.

You personally deserve all the credit for shaping BRICS into a group that is guided by these principles. We are grateful to you for the opportunity to see this firsthand, and we would also like to be involved in this activity as Republika Srpska, in a format that would allow for this possibility. I know we have opportunities to participate as Bosnia and Herzegovina. We will try this as well. It is not entirely up to us, but we will try to provide some support at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, too.

I agree with you that our cooperation is indeed guided by mutual trust and respect. We are living through times that are full of challenges, both for you and for Republika Srpska.

Your economic progress is highly encouraging, and I am impressed that you are officially the fourth largest economy in the world according to the IMF. This suggests that the sanctions that have been imposed on you have not achieved the effects intended by the West.

Unfortunately, sanctions have been imposed against us – against me personally, my family, the Speaker of the Parliament, our Assembly, the Prime Minister, and members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is an attempt to sway our position to align with their persistent goals regarding sanctions against your country.
We categorically reject this and refuse to impose sanctions against you. Just two days ago, we declined the demand for Bosnia and Herzegovina to introduce visa requirements for Russian citizens, which exemplifies our commitment to resisting such pressure.

All decisions are made at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Union is effectively linking further progress on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path to the adoption of specific decisions, with new demands emerging every day.

Yesterday, the American embassy claimed that there are camps in the Republika Srpska that we supposedly set up together with you to destabilise Moldova. This is a complete falsehood. Such accusations are a clear attempt to exert pressure and poison the atmosphere. I have noticed that they are actively pursuing this narrative. However, the current situation does not seem to encourage them towards any potential intervention.

BRICS has shown that their efforts to isolate both you and Russia have failed, despite their attempts to do so by any means available. This is something I find encouraging.

Thank you very much for allowing us to be here during these significant days, important not only for Russia but, I believe, for the entire world as well. The expansion of BRICS also inspires us with hope.

Vladimir Putin: You know, the attempt to demonise Russia is quite evident. Today at a news conference, someone asked if we are behind the unrest in certain Western capitals. That is utterly ridiculous. We simply lack the means to orchestrate any marches or unrest there. Such claims are absurd. This narrative is merely a tactic to further their own agenda and to avoid responsibility for the fundamental mistakes the West is making in relation to other countries, all in a desperate bid to maintain its dominance at any cost.

The global landscape is evolving, and so is the role of BRICS. I want to emphasise once more, as you may have seen and heard, that we are not engaged in conflict with anyone, nor do we seek confrontation. We are simply charting our own course, developing new tools and mechanisms for cooperation based on equality and mutual respect for each other’s interests. This is how we will continue to operate now and in the future.

Russia
Source: static.kremlin.ru