Putin seeks to rival West with BRICS summit

Two dozen world leaders are gathering in Russia on Tuesday for the opening of a summit of the BRICS group, an alliance of emerging economies that the Kremlin hopes will challenge Western "hegemony."

The summit is the biggest such meeting in Russia since it ordered troops into Ukraine and comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to demonstrate that Western attempts to isolate Moscow over the two-and-a-half-year offensive have failed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi —all key partners for Russia—are scheduled to join the summit, hosted in the city of Kazan from Oct. 22 to 24. Xi was en route to the meeting, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday.

Erdoğan and Putin will discuss in particular the possibility of creating a gas hub at the summit, TASS has reported, citing a statement of the press service of the Russian president.

The meeting is expected to take place on Oct. 23 on the sidelines of the summit.

The multi-aspect cooperation between Russia and Türkiye is developing dynamically in all the main areas and has a partnering and mutually beneficial nature, the Kremlin said.

"Efficient interaction was established with Turkish partners in the gas sphere. Blue Stream and TurkStream pipelines on the Black Sea bottom are functioning in a stable way," the press service said.

"Heads of state will also consider the project of creating the international gas hub in the territory of Türkiye as part of the meeting in Kazan," it added.

Prospects of developing trade and economic ties will be discussed during negotiations, whose volumes stood at $55.4 billion in 2023, the press service noted.

BRICS agenda

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