KAZAN, RUSSIA — United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in Russia on Wednesday to attend the BRICS summit, his first visit to the country for more than two years that has drawn scorn from Ukraine.
The gathering is the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since launching its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine in 2022 and President Vladimir Putin wants to use it to demonstrate that attempts to isolate him on the world stage have failed.
Around 20 world leaders, including China, India, Turkey and Iran, are in the central city of Kazan, where they will address topics such as developing a BRICS-led international payment system and the conflict in the Middle East.
Moscow sees the platform as an alternative to Western-led international organisations like the G7 — a position supported by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In bilateral talks on Tuesday, including with Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin hailed Moscow’s close ties and “strategic partnerships” with its partners.
Xi, meanwhile, praised China’s “profound” ties with Russia in what he called a “chaotic” world.
Russia and China’s relations have “injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries”, Xi said.
Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation of global “stability.”
