Russian leader Vladimir Putin had high expectations for the BRICS summit, which was held on October 22-24 in Kazan. He aimed to challenge the dominance of the West, establish himself as a leader among the member countries of the economic alliance that had arrived in Russia, and gain their support for Moscow’s views on its war against Ukraine.
Before the summit, Russian propaganda, Kremlin politicians, and Putin himself spoke of successful outcomes, but something went awry.
First, Putin thought that the BRICS group would choose a currency that would be an alternative to the dollar. He dreamed that the U.S. currency would collapse, and the United States would collapse with it. But the currency topic was not even raised.
Second, the New Development Bank, founded by the BRICS, is adamant about avoiding secondary sanctions due to its connections with Russia, an aggressor country currently under Western sanctions for its ongoing war.
The BRICS Bank does not provide money for new Russian projects. Despite repeated calls from the Russian authorities, this association has consistently denied their requests to unfreeze funding. The summit in Kazan, despite Russia’s efforts, failed to push the participating countries to change this.
Third, Putin expected the BRICS summit to be the engine that would help overthrow the West. Group members traded four times more with the West than each other. This explains why no one, with the exception of Moscow, wished to oppose the Western world.
Almost all the participants of the congress demonstrated loyalty to the West. Symbolically, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the BRICS meeting before it was over, as he had a scheduled meeting with German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In addition, countries such as India, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and South Africa spoke out against the transformation of the BRICS into an anti-American coalition.
Fourth, on the second day of the BRICS summit in Russia, the participants adopted the Kazan Declaration, which demonstrated that Moscow failed to secure international support for the creation of an alternative security system, which the Kremlin dreams of, the ISW report said.
This document demonstrates Russia’s failure to impose its views on changing the world order and global security architecture on BRICS member states.
Fifth, the BRICS states did not unite around Russia’s war against Ukraine, likely because of their support for the principles of the UN Charter.
The document mentions Russia’s war against Ukraine only once. The text emphasizes the need for the signatories to adhere to the principles of the UN Charter, including respect for the territorial integrity of states. In addition, the BRICS countries expressed their readiness to support “appropriate” mediation initiatives aimed at a peaceful settlement of the war through dialogue and diplomacy.
EU spokesperson Peter Stano said that the BRICS summit in Kazan was another attempt by Russian dictator Putin to break out of international isolation, but these attempts failed. According to Stano, Putin tried to use Russia’s rotating BRICS presidency to break out of international isolation and gain support for the war against Ukraine. However, this attempt failed, he said.
Stalo emphasized that the Kazan Declaration does not contain a unified position of the member states on Russia’s war against Ukraine but only mentions the “national positions” of the states. This, in his opinion, demonstrates the failure of Russia’s attempt to gain support within the BRICS. Stano also refuted the declaration’s assertions of “unlawful” sanctions, highlighting the justification and application of EU sanctions against those who breach international law.
Sixth, Putin’s attempt to turn the BRICS into his own platform for influence failed. The Kremlin leader invited representatives of Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Kazakhstan to this meeting. He expected that their presence would give him more weight at the summit, but this did not happen.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev refused to attend the summit, and as for Venezuela and Nicaragua, Brazil blocked their accession to BRICS.
Seventh, the BRICS summit in Kazan was also notable for deepening the divisions and misunderstandings within this political club. Russia’s attempts to take the lead were unlikely to please Xi Jinping, who sees China as the leader of the organization.
After all, the BRICS leaders did not go to see Putin. They intended to meet with Xi to discuss the Chinese agenda. And Russia was just a venue. On the other hand, the Chinese leader backed Putin, demonstrating that the Russian president is not globally isolated.
The BRICS summit in Kazan was supposed to be a pompous showcase of the emerging powerful opposition to the West in the form of an alliance of countries that harbor grievances and claims from the historical context, but now together they have created a global economic power.
However, it has not become such a power; moreover, it has introduced a certain disharmony into the arrogant atmosphere of a club that does not yet have a common goal and a great perspective.
Russian propaganda inflated the significance of the BRICS summit in Kazan to the level of a global event, although the organization itself was not close to matching this status.
