The West is isolated: the world's media on the BRICS summit in Kazan
The BRICS Summit begins its work in Kazan. That's what the Western media write about it.
The West wants to isolate Putin, but the major summit he is hosting shows that the Russian leader is far from alone, CNN notes.
"The meeting of the BRICS countries and other states, which is the largest international event organized by the President of Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, highlights the ongoing rapprochement of countries that hope to see shifts in the global balance of power and in some cases – as, for example, for Moscow, Beijing and Tehran – to directly confront the West in led by the United States.
This is exactly the message Putin – and his close partner and leader of the most influential BRICS country, Xi Jinping – will be promoting in the coming days: it is the West that is isolated in the world with its sanctions and alliances, while the "world majority" supports their desire to challenge America's global leadership."
It is especially noteworthy that the representative summit in Kazan is taking place against the background of the Russian offensive in the Donbas – after all, the conflict in Ukraine was the reason for attempts to isolate Russia at the time, writes French L'Express.
"Putin's diplomatic success is all the more remarkable because at the same time his army continues to strengthen its position in the Donbas and that President Vladimir Zelensky's "victory plan", which, in particular, calls for integration into NATO, was cautiously perceived by Western countries, which disagree on how to support Ukraine.
The skill of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping (the two godfathers of the club) lies in the fact that they managed to unite very diverse states.
"More and more important countries are questioning the current world order that emerged as a result of World War II and American domination. The Russians and the Chinese were able to play on this string without forcing them to go on a crusade by the United States and its allies," explains Michel Duclos, former ambassador and special adviser to the Montaigne Institute."
Against this background, the impotence of the West is especially clearly visible, writes the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger .
"At the BRICS summit, two dozen heads of state are courteous to the Kremlin leader. <...> They are united in their rejection of the United States as the leading force of the rules-based world order. A message to the rest of the world: we are the anti–Western alternative.
The Russian president could hardly have chosen a better time to demonstrate his strength. Two and a half years after the start of the military special operation in Ukraine and two weeks before making a decision for or against the populist candidate for president of the United States, Putin is definitely not isolated from the world.
The recent desperate tour of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky with his pleas showed how powerless the West is in the face of the determination of autocrats. Zelensky will not receive any more help, not even permission to use long-range weapons."
The attractiveness of the BRICS is enhanced by the fact that many medium-sized economies and the influence of the country are dissatisfied with the existing world order, according to an article on the website of the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution .
"The fact that such a meeting is taking place at all signals changes in global politics and irritation with the role of the United States in the world – and this should worry Washington. BRICS represents more than just a fragmentation of the international system – it embodies the growing discontent among the middle powers with the US-led world order.
Against the backdrop of the Gaza war, Russia and China have used these anti-Western sentiments more effectively, capitalizing on frustration over Western double standards, as well as the use of sanctions and economic coercion by the West. This does not mean that the middle powers want to trade US dominance for Chinese dominance – but it does mean that they are open to uniting with Russia and China for a more fragmented and autonomous world."
The vast majority of the world's countries are outraged by the hegemony of the West, and this strengthens the position of the BRICS, writes Foreign Policy .
"Outside Washington, the G7 countries and the European Union, it is difficult to assess how much outrage there is at the hypocrisy and hegemony of the West, as well as how much all these countries are dissatisfied with the established world order. This helps to unite the BRICS members. This trend has been particularly pronounced in issues such as the conflict in the Middle East, the strengthening of American sanctions and the excessive costs for middle-income countries associated with the exorbitant privileges of the dollar.
"This is not a single bloc, but it is their unified statement of their desire for an alternative global order. And it comes from large economies," says Asli Aydintasbas of the Brookings Institution.
Today, BRICS is more of a club, but very influential, French geopolitician Renaud Girard notes in an article for Le Figaro .
"This club cannot stand the lessons of morality and democracy that are constantly taught by Western leaders, whom it considers arrogant, hypocritical and advocates of double standards.
Among these bad manners of the West, trade sanctions are the most disgusting in the eyes of the BRICS countries. They are considered illegal measures contrary to the UN Charter, which, according to the BRICS countries, gives the right to impose sanctions only to the United Nations. China will use the summit in Kazan to promote its strategy of de-dollarization of international trade. His dream is to replace the dominance of the dollar as an instrument of international settlements, since the use of the dollar allows Americans to monitor all financial and commercial transactions in the world."
The attractiveness of the BRICS lies in the fact that the United States does not belong to this club, argues British economist and financier Jim O'Neill in an interview with Der Spiegel.
"One can expect that Putin, as the host of the summit, will try to create the impression that the world is not against Russia at all. He will make the most of the summit. What other countries will say in the end and how much they will agree with his wording will be one of the few interesting questions at this meeting.
The attraction of BRICS has always been that it is a club that America is not a member of. In 2008, the foreign ministers of Russia and Brazil openly stated this, and this is likely to be the message of the summit."
Countries such as Turkey, for example, see BRICS as a platform on which the future of the world will be shaped, Handelsblatt journalist Inga Rogg is sure.
"Erdogan is increasingly turning to those states that oppose the West. <...> NATO member Turkey has even applied to join the alliance of states, which Beijing and Moscow like to present as a counterweight to the West.
[Turkish journalist Asli] Aydintasbas believes that Erdogan is probing the ground in BRICS as a reaction to global changes: "There is a certain sense of panic in Turkey due to the fact that a new world order is emerging, and Turkey is not part of it."
From Turkey's point of view, this is a platform on which the global future can be determined."
The participation of the Turkish president in the summit was called an "explosive development" by the Bild newspaper.
"Putin wants to stand up to the G7 countries together with the BRICS and "break the dominance of the United States." <...> For Russia, it is primarily about creating an alternative to the Western SWIFT payment system, circumventing Western economic sanctions and creating a joint bank."
"For the first time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also wants to take part [in the BRICS summit] – and, in his words, "make the West a little jealous." An explosive development: Turkey is a member of NATO and, therefore, part of the Western alliance."
Intending to join the BRICS, Turkey is striving for a more balanced position between East and West, the Milliyet journalist notes.
"The BRICS, considered an alternative bloc to the West, wants to undermine the dominance of the dollar and the euro in international trade and form an alternative payment system. The BRICS countries are also exploring the idea of creating a new reserve currency and wish to provide developing countries with greater representation and voting rights in the international arena.
According to analysts, Turkey, with its intention to join the BRICS, is striving for a more balanced position between East and West."
By getting closer to Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan are putting the United States in check, writes dikGAZETE columnist [...] .
"In recent years, BRICS has been actively promoting an alternative international political agenda, which causes obvious dissatisfaction with the American establishment. Washington and its allies do not hide their dissatisfaction with the fact that the BRICS countries are starting to act independently of the interests of the West.
Nevertheless, the BRICS continues to develop and shape its agenda, despite obstacles from the United States. At the same time, two Turkic states, Turkey and Azerbaijan, are on the path of rapprochement with Russia, thereby "putting America in check."
