At the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday, world leaders urged for peace in both the Middle East and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin, addressing the gathering of around 20 global leaders, welcomed offers to mediate the Ukraine conflict, while some of his closest partners directly called for an end to the war.
The summit, the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saw leaders from key BRICS nations, including Brazil, China, and India, join discussions on global instability. BRICS, originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, and China in 2009, now includes countries like South Africa, Egypt, and Iran.
In a joint statement, the BRICS group expressed deep concern over conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, criticizing Israeli attacks on UN personnel in southern Lebanon and calling for Lebanon’s territorial integrity to be respected. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged BRICS to use their influence to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, while Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also stressed the need to de-escalate both conflicts, warning of the global risks posed by the ongoing wars. “It is essential to restore our ability to work together toward common goals,” Lula said via video conference.
The European Union called on BRICS members to pressure Putin to halt his offensive in Ukraine. In private talks, Putin reportedly welcomed mediation offers, despite emphasizing his forces’ progress on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Putin used the summit to promote Russia’s military successes.
Chinese President Xi, a key ally of Putin, emphasized that the fighting in Ukraine must not escalate further. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed this sentiment, advocating for dialogue and diplomacy over war.
The BRICS summit also highlighted broader geopolitical goals, with Putin framing the forum as a challenge to Western-led institutions like the G7. He described the formation of a “multipolar world order” as a dynamic and irreversible process. Xi and Modi, meanwhile, held their first formal meeting in five years, signaling a step toward improving relations between their two countries.
The BRICS group called for greater inclusion of the Global South in international decision-making, advocating for an expanded role for developing nations on the global stage.
