During the summit, President Putin shocked the world by saying that "the Middle East is on the brink of a full-scale war after a sharp rise in tension between Israel and Iran."
Putin explains that with the degree of confrontation between Israel and Iran sharply increasing, all these resemble a chain reaction and put the entire Middle East on the brink of a full-scale war.
Speaking after Putin, Chinese president Xi concur and added his thoughts on the Middle East conflict.
"In the Middle East, there should be a comprehensive ceasefire, to halt the spread of war in Lebanon and a return to the two-state solution under which states for both Israel and Palestine would be established."
While a lot of the discussion of the summit was dedicated to the Middle East conflict and the war in Ukraine, but there was no sign that anything specific would be done to end either conflict.
Vladimir Putin starts a new world without the West
Vladimir Putin has proclaimed the start of a new world order as his allies rushed to sign up to a Kremlin-led economic club at the summit in Russia. A total of 36 world leaders from nations including China, India, and Iran have all gathered in Kazan, Russia for the 2024 BRICS summit hosted by none other than Putin.
And BRICS is only intending to expand its power, with more than 30 countries-ranging from Thailand, Algeria, Turkey and more) expressing their interest in joining the BRICS Bloc. This marks a significant milestone in global geopolitics, highlighting the shifting power dynamics towards a multipolar world order.
As BRICS' clout continues to grow, its economic power as well. Currently, nine of its members account for 26% of the world economy and 45% of the world's population vs the group of Seven's 44% of global domestic product and 10% of its inhabitants.
With Russia currently under the sanctions from the US and its G-7 allies over Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian leader's agenda of leading the BRICS pack away from the western-dominated financial institutions and the U.S dollars is becoming more and more apparent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks underscore this growing trend, pointing to the BRICS as a symbol of resistance against the current global economic structure.
But while many BRICS members might favor the use of national currencies in bilateral trade, they might not have the same incentive to escape the dollar-based system. Countries like India, South Africa and UAE have also opposed the idea of BRICS being an anti-US body, revealing their hesitency to fully detach themselves from the U.S just yet.