President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in the Russian city of Kazan on Tuesday for a jam-packed BRICS summit that, according to Russian host President Vladimir Putin, will not be anti-Western because it won’t be about the West at all.
Ramaphosa was among an earlier batch of arrivals, preceded by the delegations from Brazil, Ethiopia, and India at the increasingly busy airport ahead of an informal lunch that will kick off proceedings.
By Tuesday, it was not yet clear if UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would be present at that or any of the subsequent events. Russia stated he had accepted an invitation and was expected, but Guterres’ office would not confirm his travel schedule. Ukraine lashed out at Guterres’ apparent acceptance, saying that was “a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace” and “only damages the UN’s reputation.”
Both open and closed meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, and on Thursday, there are “outreach” sessions for new and aspiring members. The final formal event on Thursday is a press conference by Putin, which will be closely watched around the world for both what he says and what he avoids on issues, including whether Saudi Arabia is fully committed to membership. That country is key to BRICS ambitions, mostly articulated by Putin, to gather a significant proportion of the world’s production of important resources into a bloc that trades outside of especially American control.
One issue the summit is to discuss is the creation of a BRICS currency, an initiative that has stalled several times, leading Russia to increase trade in Chinese yuan currency. Ramaphosa is among the 17 heads of state and large organizations due to meet with Putin over the course of the summit, not counting pre- and post-meetings that have featured business leaders. His meeting, said Ramaphosa’s office, “will present an opportunity for President Ramaphosa to communicate priorities of the seventh administration, highlight the strategic importance of the Russian Federation to South Africa, and to exchange views” with Putin “on issues of mutual interest.”
Discussions on Ukraine and what various leaders have to say about it will be of particular interest to Western countries. Putin now directly refers to a proxy war with NATO in that country and has urged others in BRICS to take at least a strong neutral stance, of the sort South Africa espouses. At one meeting this week, Putin again said BRICS seeks to break the stranglehold that an American-led group has on global affairs, but that it is not anti-Western.
“BRICS was never meant to be created in opposition to anyone,” he said. “The Prime Minister of India put it best. He said BRICS is not an anti-Western alliance; it is simply non-Western. This distinction is very important and has great meaning. That is, BRICS does not set itself in opposition to anyone. It is a group of countries that work together, guided by shared values, a common vision for development, and, most importantly, by the consideration of each other’s interests. This is the foundation on which we will be working in Kazan.”
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