This week, some of the world’s most powerful leaders will stand side by side with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia. China’s Xi Jinping. India’s Narendra Modi. Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan. And Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. All will participate in the Brics summit which starts on Tuesday in the city of Kazan, which is located on the banks of the Volga 500 kilometers east of Moscow. But one name in particular has attracted attention. UN Secretary-General António Guterres will reportedly attend. Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov told the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti. It is not popular in war-torn Ukraine. – The UN Secretary-General declined Ukraine’s invitation to participate in the peace meeting in Switzerland, writes the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on X, referring to this summer’s conference on Ukraine’s future. – He has, however, accepted the invitation to Kazan from the war criminal Putin. This is a wrong choice that does not advance the attempt at peace. It will only damage the UN’s reputation. From left: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit in Brazil in 2019. Apart from Jair Bolsonaro, all remain in the same position. Photo: SERGIO LIMA / AFP Does not confirm travel plans The Brics organization is described in Russia as the most important alternative in a world ruled by the West. An “engine for a new world order”, writes the Putin-friendly Russian think tank Valdai club. The UN, for its part, has neither confirmed nor denied reports that Guterres is going to Russia. – Announcements about his future travels will come later, said spokesman Farham Haq, reports Reuters. The conference center in Kazan is ready to welcome some of the world’s most powerful leaders. Photo: Maxim Shemetov / Reuters More than 90 countries participated in the peace meeting that Ukraine organized in Switzerland in June. Although Guterres was not present, the UN was also represented. The last time Guterres visited Russia was in 2022, shortly after Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine. The UN chief then asked Russia to end the war. Will show that Russia is not alone The term “BRIC” was first used in the early 2000s as an abbreviation for the emerging market economies Brazil, Russia, India and China. The “S” for South Africa was added later, and in 2009 the organization was officially established. This year, Brics was expanded to include four more countries, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia’s status will be “clarified” at the summit, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Ria Novosti. Banners with the text “Brics 2024” hang on lampposts in front of the Kremlin, the city fortress, in Kazan. Photo: Alexey Nasyrov / Reuters In total, representatives of more than 30 countries will participate in the two-day meeting in Kazan. However, Brazilian President Lula da Silva is conspicuous by his absence. He canceled after he fell and suffered a minor brain haemorrhage. – For Russia, this is an important moment to show the West that the country is not isolated. It will be interesting to see how far other countries are willing to go along with what Russia wants: To make Brics more anti-Western than it is, Oliver Stuenkel told Foreign Policy. Stuenkel is professor of international politics at the university and think tank Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brazil. – Brazil and India clearly want to push back against it. So the Kazan summit gives us an interesting insight into the real political dynamics in the global south between the Brics countries, he emphasizes. State-controlled Russian media emphasize that a number of countries are now queuing up to join Brics “Russia would like to invite more friendly countries,” writes RT. “An enlarged Brics with more friends inside will help Russia return to a normal state of trade and investment, which has been curtailed by US pressure.” Interested in abroad? Listen to the foreign affairs editor’s podcast: Published 22 October 2024, at 06.52 Updated 22.10.2024, at 07.32
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The UN chief’s possible visit to Russia stirs up tempers in Ukraine – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
