KAZAN, Russia
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.
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