President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia once more blamed Western international locations for the struggle in Ukraine in a wide-ranging speech through video link on Wednesday to the five-nation BRICS summit, maintaining his makes an attempt to rally the member international locations to Moscow’s facet.
Addressing fellow leaders of the group, which incorporates Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, on the second day of the assembly, Mr. Putin stated Russia would assume chairmanship of the group subsequent yr and host a summit within the metropolis of Kazan in October 2024.
Moscow launched its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine virtually 18 months in the past, however the Kremlin has sought to painting the choice as a defensive transfer in opposition to a hostile Ukrainian authorities, and antagonism from the United States, Europe and NATO.
“Our actions in Ukraine are guided by only one thing — to put an end to the war that was unleashed by the West,” Mr. Putin added, in accordance to an English translation of the dwell video stream of his deal with supplied by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, in a well-known chorus.
Mr. Putin is the one chief of a BRICS nation not to attend the summit in Johannesburg in individual this week as a result of he’s needed for struggle crimes underneath a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. South Africa, which is a celebration to the treaty that created the courtroom and would have been obliged to arrest him if he had traveled there, had requested him to keep away.
The summit has targeted on whether or not to develop the membership and the way to be a counterweight to Western powers. The struggle in Ukraine, the prospect of a significant BRICS growth and heightened tensions between China and the United States have drawn uncommon consideration to the assembly.
BRICS members have seen it because the kernel of a diplomatic and financial bloc to counterbalance Western-dominated alliances just like the Group of 7. Dozens of different international locations have utilized for entry, and Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt and Argentina are amongst these thought of to be on the high of the record.
For China’s high chief, Xi Jinping, the summit has provided a possibility to solid himself as a frontrunner of the creating world. Beijing’s help for Russia and its aggressive posture on points just like the standing of Taiwan, the self-governed island Beijing claims as its territory, have alienated it from international locations in North America, Europe and Asia.
In China’s escalating rivalry with the United States, Africa is an rising battleground for world affect. Beijing has invested billions in international locations which have lengthy been ignored by the West. The results of that outreach has been diplomatic help in worldwide organizations just like the United Nations and entry to crucial minerals wanted to energy rising industries, like electrical autos.
While not mentioning it by identify, Mr. Xi took goal on the United States on Tuesday, portray it as a bully and a risk to peace in a speech that was learn by China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, for undisclosed causes.
