Russia’s BRICS summit: What’s on the agenda and why does it matter?

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting the yearly BRICS summit, which started connected Tuesday, successful Russia’s southwestern metropolis Kazan.

The three-day conclave volition beryllium the largest gathering of satellite leaders successful Russia successful decades and volition beryllium held astatine a clip erstwhile the Kremlin is locked successful a warfare with Western-backed Ukraine.

So what is connected the agenda, and wherefore is the acme significant?

What is BRICS?

BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The radical started successful 2006, and Brazil, Russia, India and China convened for the archetypal BRIC acme successful 2009. South Africa joined a twelvemonth later.

The purpose of the confederation is to situation the economical and governmental monopoly of the West. The radical sets priorities and has discussions erstwhile each twelvemonth during the BRICS summit, which members instrumentality turns hosting. The acme is the 16th held.

In 2023, BRICS extended invitations to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates aft these countries applied for membership. Saudi Arabia has yet to formally join, but the others have.

An invitation was extended to Argentina astatine the aforesaid time, but the South American state turned it down aft President Javier Milei, elected successful December, campaigned connected the committedness that helium would bolster ties with the West.

Who is attending the BRICS summit?

Two twelve satellite leaders attended the opening of the acme connected Tuesday.

Leaders of BRICS subordinate countries – including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa – are attending the summit.

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed person besides each landed successful Kazan for the summit.

Leaders of respective different countries that person shown an involvement successful deepening ties with BRICS are besides participating, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva cancelled his travel to Russia aft suffering a caput wounded successful a autumn astatine location connected October 19. Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira volition present correspond the state astatine the summit.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is besides expected to be – and conscionable Putin. On Monday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised Guterres, saying that portion helium did not judge an invitation to be a Ukraine-backed bid acme successful Switzerland successful June, “he did, however, judge the invitation to Kazan from warfare transgression Putin. This is simply a incorrect prime that does not beforehand the origin of peace. It lone damages the UN’s reputation.”

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) successful The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Putin, accusing him of the warfare transgression of amerciable deportation of children from Ukraine.

What is connected the summit’s agenda?

The cardinal taxable that unites BRICS members is their disillusionment with Western-led institutions of planetary governance, particularly erstwhile it comes to the economy.

The sanctions imposed connected Russia aft its 2022 penetration of Ukraine person spooked galore Global South nations disquieted that the West could weaponise tools of planetary concern against them.

“In the aftermath of the warfare successful Gaza, Russia and China person much efficaciously harnessed this anti-Western sentiment, capitalising connected frustrations implicit Western treble standards arsenic good arsenic the usage of sanctions and economical coercion by the West,” Asli Aydintasbas, a Turkish overseas argumentation expert, said successful comments to the Brookings Institute, a Washington, DC, deliberation tank. “It doesn’t mean that mediate powers privation to commercialized US dominance for Chinese, but it means they are unfastened to aligning with Russia and China for a much fragmented and autonomous world.”

To that end, BRICS partners privation to trim their dependence connected the United States dollar and the SWIFT system, an planetary messaging web for fiscal transactions that Russian banks were chopped disconnected from successful 2022.

In 2023, Lula projected a trading currency for BRICS members. But experts person cautioned that immoderate specified inaugural mightiness beryllium riddled with challenges. In August, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar besides expressed scepticism astir however realistic a BRICS currency mightiness be.

Instead, BRICS members are present moving connected utilizing their nationalist currencies much for bilateral commercialized to insulate them from currency fluctuations and chopped their dependence connected the dollar.

“China present has an alternate to the SWIFT outgo system, though constricted successful use, and countries similar Turkey and Brazil progressively restructure their dollar reserves into gold,” Aydintasbas said. “Currency swaps for vigor deals are besides a fashionable thought – each suggesting a tendency for greater fiscal independency from the West.” 

Why is the acme important for Putin?

Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine successful February 2022, the state and its person person grown isolated.

A period aft the commencement of the invasion, Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the US unveiled a slew of sanctions connected Russian banks, lipid refineries and subject exports. There person been more sanctions connected Russia and its allies since.

The ICC apprehension warrant against Putin besides means helium can’t question to countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, a UN pact that established the court, without risking arrest. In 2023, helium skipped the BRICS acme successful South Africa, which is simply a enactment to the treaty, amid unit connected Pretoria to detain the Russian person if helium were to attend.

Western leaders are besides mostly unwilling to articulation Putin successful immoderate multilateral setting. Putin skipped the G20 acme successful India past twelvemonth adjacent though New Delhi is not a enactment to the Rome Statute.

Against that backdrop, “the Kazan acme has large symbolic and applicable value for the Putin regime,” Angela Stent, manager of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies astatine Georgetown University, said successful comments to the Brookings Institute. “The acme volition show that, acold from being isolated, Russia has important partners similar India, China and different large emerging powers.”

The expanded BRICS radical present represents astir 45 percent of the world’s colonisation and 25 percent of planetary gross home product.

What’s adjacent for BRICS?

BRICS is continuing to expand.

Southeast Asian countries person precocious expressed an involvement successful joining the alliance.

At the BRICS Dialogue with Developing Countries held successful Russia connected June 11, Thailand said it wanted to join.

On June 18, Malaysia expressed interest successful being portion of BRICS conscionable earlier Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited the country.

NATO subordinate Turkey besides formally requested to articulation BRICS successful September.

“That truthful galore countries are consenting to spell to Russia, deemed a pariah authorities not truthful agelong agone for having violated planetary instrumentality by invading Ukraine, confirms a inclination followed by an expanding fig of countries successful the world: They don’t privation to person to take betwixt partners,” said Tara Varma, a visiting chap astatine the Brookings Institute.