Putin wants to show power at the BRICS summit, but he also has to deal with depression

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  Geert Groot free

  Russian reporter

The BRICS summit that begins today in the Russian city of Kazan is a first-rate PR event for Russia and for President Vladimir Putin personally. Russia is using the summit to prove that, despite Western sanctions, the country is far from isolated in the world.

BRICS, the club of non-Western countries that since 2010 consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was expanded at the beginning of this year by four countries: the Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, and so on. we talk now also from the BRICS +. Saudi Arabia was also expected to join, but so far they have decided against full membership.

They will appear alongside representatives from around 25 other countries in the city on the Volga, capital of the oil-rich and predominantly Muslim republic of Tatarstan. Kazan was chosen in part because the city already has the necessary experience in organizing major events, such as the Football World Cup in 2018.

Putin can therefore receive a large number of prominent guests, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Modi, UN Secretary General Guterres and Turkish President Erdogan.

Putin never misses an opportunity to emphasize that Russia, with the BRICS countries at its side, is one of the leaders of the ‘global majority’. The BRICS countries themselves make up about 45 percent of the world’s population, and a majority is quickly reached if you include the dozens of countries that Putin says are eager to join , or at least work closely together.

Among the candidates are countries such as Turkey and Pakistan. But not all BRICS members are equally keen on further expansion. The countries involved already have different views on many issues, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its implications.

And India, for example, prefers to see neighboring country Pakistan outside rather than inside the club. With a larger number of Member States, mutual irritation may also increase.

Putin would like to see the BRICS grow, as expansion “increases the authority and influence” of the club, which strives for a different world order where the United States does not play first more violin.

Already, Putin argues, the contribution of the BRICS countries to the world economy is greater than the G7, the group of rich industrial nations led by the US. Russia was previously part of the group (then under the name G8) for almost two decades, until the country was suspended due to the annexation of Crimea.

But on the eve of the summit in Kazan, several countries have quietly said that they are not aiming for BRICS membership, including the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Armenia.

So it may not be a coincidence that Russia has now banned the import of several agricultural products from Kazakhstan. Armenia has been trying to escape Russia’s influence for some time and is not considering turning to BRICS at this time.

And there is more reduction for Putin. Brazilian President Lula da Silva has been suspended and will only attend the summit in Kazan via video link.

And although Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian himself will come to Kazan, the planned solemn signing of a long-awaited strategic agreement between Russia and Iran will not take place. The signing will take place at an undisclosed time, possibly during Pezeshkian’s first official visit to Moscow.

The content of that Russian-Iranian deal is not known, but it is expected to be similar to a similar deal Putin signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier this year, and sent to parliament for confirmation last week sent. The agreement states that Russia and North Korea will support each other militarily if either is attacked.