Ukraine War Overshadows Putin’s BRICS Summit in Russia

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Russia aims to use the BRICS summit to highlight the growing influence of the non-Western world, but its partners—China, India, Brazil, and Arab nations—are pressing President Vladimir Putin to find a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
The BRICS group now represents 45% of the global population and 35% of its economy, based on purchasing power parity, with China contributing over half of this economic power.
Putin, labeled a war criminal by the West, told reporters from BRICS countries that “BRICS does not position itself against anyone” and that the shift in global economic growth is simply a reality.
“This is an association of states that collaborate based on shared values, a common vision for development, and, most importantly, the principle of respecting each other’s interests,” he stated.
The summit coincides with global finance leaders convening in Washington amid conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, a struggling Chinese economy, and concerns that the U.S. presidential election could trigger new trade disputes.
Since ordering troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of conflict in the eastern region, Putin faced numerous questions from BRICS reporters regarding the possibility of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
In response, Putin made it clear that Moscow would not relinquish the four eastern Ukrainian regions it claims as part of Russia, despite parts of them being outside its control, and emphasized the need for long-term security interests to be considered in Europe.
Two Russian sources indicated that while discussions about a potential ceasefire agreement are growing in Moscow, no concrete plans have emerged yet, and the world is waiting for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election on November 5. Russia, which is making advances, currently controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it seized and annexed in 2014, approximately 80% of the Donbas region—a coal-and-steel area that includes Donetsk and Luhansk—and more than 70% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Putin stated that the West has come to recognize that Russia will prevail, but he remains open to negotiations based on the draft ceasefire agreements established in Istanbul in April 2022.
On the eve of the BRICS summit, Putin held informal talks with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which lasted until midnight at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, just outside Moscow.