Putin hosts Global South leaders at BRICS summit meant to counterbalance Western clout

Kazan, Russia: China s Xi Jinping, India s Narendra Modi and other world leaders arrived Tuesday in the Russian city of Kazan for a summit of the BRIC...

Kazan, Russia: China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and other world leaders arrived Tuesday in the Russian city of Kazan for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies that the Kremlin hopes to turn into a rallying point for defying Western influence in global affairs.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the three-day meeting also offers a powerful way to demonstrate the failure of U.S.-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov touted the summit as "the largest foreign policy event ever held” by Russia, with 36 countries attending and more than 20 of them represented by heads of state.

The alliance that initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has expanded rapidly to embrace Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members, and a few others have expressed interest in joining.