The meeting in Kazan, western Russia, began on Tuesday under Russian hosting, and at the start of the summit, the Kremlin showed what signals it wanted to send to the world.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping praised Beijing's "deep-rooted friendship" with Moscow.
The world is experiencing comprehensive changes that we have not seen in a century, the international situation is chaotic and interconnected, Xi said at the meeting with Putin.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed deep respect for the friendship with Russia:
We continue to see Russia as an important ally, a valuable friend who has supported us from the beginning: from the days when we fought against apartheid and until now, Ramaphosa said, according to AFP's reporter on the spot.
Putin responded by confirming the global importance of African countries.
Strategic Partnership
The Russian president began the Brics meeting with a deliberately informal welcome by meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Russian-Indian relations have a focus on a special strategic partnership that continues to develop, Putin said.
Modi, in turn, said that India supports a swift return to peace in Ukraine, without elaborating on what such peace would look like:
We believe that the dispute could be resolved peacefully. We fully support efforts to restore peace and security, Modi said.
Many Want In
The original so-called Brics countries are Brazil, India, China, South Africa, and Russia, but around 20 heads of state and government are attending the meeting. Around 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the Brics alliance.
The loosely formed group strengthened its global presence at the previous summit when South Africa hosted in Johannesburg. Then, the original countries agreed to expand the group with countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran.
At the same time, criticism from Brics countries against "Western hegemony" intensified, which they see as a power-hungry world domination.
Moscow announced on Monday that UN Secretary-General António Guterres is traveling to Kazan.
At an earlier meeting, weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the two met in Moscow. Then, Guterres advocated for an immediate ceasefire, which was not heeded by the Kremlin.
The five countries in the Brics group – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – are meeting for a two-day summit in Kazan, Russia.
The concept of "Bric" – South Africa joined in 2010 – was coined in 2001 by Jim O'Neill, one of the heads of the investment bank Goldman Sachs. The group was formalized in 2006.
The Brics countries have a significant share of the world's GDP (28 percent), and the population of these countries makes up a large part of the world's population (3.5 billion – equivalent to 45 percent).
The Brics group criticizes, among other things, the lack of influence in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Sources: Brics, AFP, and BBC
