World leaders called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine at the BRICS summit in Russia on Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin told them he welcomed offers to mediate in the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian leader is casting the gathering as a sign that Western attempts to isolate Moscow have failed, but faced direct calls to end the Ukraine conflict from some of his closest and most important partners.
The meeting of around 20 world leaders in the central city of Kazan is the largest diplomatic forum held in Russia since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Starting in 2009 with four members -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- BRICS has expanded to include other emerging nations such as South Africa, Egypt and Iran.
In a joint statement, the group said it was "deeply concerned about ongoing conflicts and instability in the Middle East and North African region."
It also criticised Israeli attacks on U.N. staff in southern Lebanon and urged that Lebanon's "territorial integrity" be "preserved."
At a plenary session earlier on Wednesday, leaders had lined up to call for peace in both the Middle East and Ukraine.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian urged BRICS members to "use all their collective and individual capacities to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon".
Chinese President Xi Jinping repeated his call for a ceasefire, saying: "We need to... stop the killing and work tirelessly for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue."
And Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also called for escalation in both the Middle East and Ukraine to be avoided.
"As we face two wars that have the potential to become global, it is essential to restore our ability to work together toward common goals," he said in an address to the summit via video conference.
Kyiv said the summit "once again demonstrated that the world majority remains on the side of Ukraine in its quest to guarantee a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace."
The European Union on Wednesday urged BRICS members to use the forum to pressure Putin to "immediately" halt his offensive on Ukraine.
In private bilateral talks, Putin welcomed offers by several BRICS leaders to mediate in Ukraine, even as he told them his forces were advancing on the battlefield, his spokesman said Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Putin had also used the meetings to tout "the very positive dynamics on the front for the Russian armed forces".
Russian troops have been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine for much of 2024, though neither side has been able to make a decisive breakthrough.
Xi, a key Putin ally, told the summit there must be "no escalation of fighting" in Ukraine.
"We must adhere to the three principles of 'no spillover from the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no adding oil to the fire by relevant parties', so as to ease the situation as soon as possible," Xi said.
Without referring to any specific conflict, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also issued a call for peace.
"We support dialogue and diplomacy, not war," he said.
Brazil's Lula said it was "crucial" to open peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Xi and Modi have previously touted their own peace initiatives for Ukraine, though there has appeared to be little progress.
Putin has demanded Ukraine effectively capitulate by ceding more territory in its east and south as a precondition to ceasefire talks.
Kyiv has ruled out giving up land in exchange for peace and currently occupies part of Russian territory following a brazen cross-border summer offensive.
Putin also also met with Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has also cast himself as a possible peacemaker.
On Thursday, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres is expected to meet Putin for his first in-preson talks with the Russian leader since April 2022.
Moscow sees the BRICS platform as an alternative to Western-led international organisations like the G7.
In opening remarks to the summit, Putin said the process of "forming a multipolar world order is underway, a dynamic and irreversible process."
Xi and Modi also used the summit to hold their first formal meeting in five years, days after the neighbouring countries reached a deal on their contested border.
Xi said it was in their "fundamental interests" that the two sides "strengthen communication and cooperation".
The BRICS group also called for the Global South to be given a bigger role on the world stage and more deeply integrated into international "decision-making" platforms.
© 2024 AFP
11 Comments
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Banthu
And nobody can stop them, not the other BRICS countries, not NATO and certainly not Zelensky.
The Russian army is an unstoppable machine.
The war will end when Zelensky faces reality or the Russian army achieves the goals that Putin has tasked it with.
JJE
Misleading headline.
The Israel-American genocide in Palestine was the main issue.
Not the limited ground operation in Ukraine, that was provoked by outside quarters and this is defensive in nature.
JJE
If one examines the article, no world leaders actually referred to the Ukraine conflict directly. Lula referred to Ukraine, but his words were about preventing an escalation, which applies to the Kyiv regime too.
So, for Kyiv to come out and say this:
...is nothing more than gratuitous smoke pumping of the first order.
stormcrow
Putin the Great Peacemaker?!?! LOL!
JJE
Putin is absolutely spot on here. Everyday RFAF are making incremental advances, chipping away here, scooping up territory there, with Kyiv regime forces in a terrible position. Clearly the manpower/Kursk issue has left the Eastern Front not adequately manned and combined Russian-Allied forces are poking holes in the numerous gaps. Recently they have been opening up new cauldrons like cans of tuna. Winter will only increase this trend with not an F-16 in sight.
TaiwanIsNotChina
So basically touting their lack of interest in peace. Important to remember Ukraine has not been offered a just peace.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Still unprovoked and defensive operations don't result in countries turning into rump states like some poster's dream.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Did they figure out the expired rations problem yet? Do they still send the convicts ahead to see whether it is safe?
When Putin walks those goals back to zero, yeah.
fallaffel
Even with Russia hosting this event, none of its "partners" gave words of support for Russia's invasion. It shows Putin has no friends, only people who hold their nose and talk to him so they can get cheap gas.
Fos
The other side of the world should be thankful there is a side, Brics, opposing the imperialism of United Stated of America and the hypocrisy of G7, where the military conflicts (Middle East to start with), and the numerous 'coup' framed around the world by the US administration are the main objective to promote Washington's own war economy. This is Japan main ally after all and we should be very careful. The upcoming election will tell.
Underworld
Fos
Russia is the new main imperialist power these…
Underworld
Days…
Primusinter
The next five years, the global economy will rely on the BRICS countries more than on the G7 states. These are the conclusions reached by Bloomberg. Nothing of personal:)))