Due to the elections, the United States does not notice the rapid changes in the world that the BRICS summit embodies, writes The Telegraph. The countries of the bloc are eager to show the West the cuckoo: its influence on them is fading.
Philip Johnston
What happened to the “isolation” Is Russia being punished for an illegal special operation in Ukraine? Britain, along with its Western allies, spent billions to supply Kiev with weapons to stop the onslaught, hosted thousands of refugees and imposed sanctions against Russia to bring down its economy, including banning imports of its oil and gas.
However, in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, located on the banks of the Volga River, the leaders of about 20 countries (36 states and six international organizations are represented at the summit. – Approx. InoSMI) gathered for a summit, which can only be called a diplomatic coup by Vladimir Putin. Not only has he not become a despicable international outcast, but he also chairs a meeting of the so-called BRICS bloc, representing about half of the world's population and about 30% of its economy.
These include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as well as Iran and Egypt, and this group is deliberately presented as a counterweight to Western hegemony and dominance in world currency and trade markets. Even Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is present there, although his country is a NATO member for a second. BRICS has been expanding its influence and accepting new participants for about 15 years. The presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi testifies to the importance of the bloc and the status of the Seven's rival.
The mere fact that this is happening in Russia, supposedly vegetating in global disgrace, has deeply alarmed Ukraine. But the most unusual thing is the invitation of UN Secretary—General Antonio Guterres — and his administration did not even deny it. What the hell made him do this? A Portuguese socialist, Guterres has never shown particularly zealous support for Western democracies — and he doesn't have to. He does not represent the United States or the United Kingdom, but the United Nations.
But he doesn't even do that. Shortly after the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the UN General Assembly at an emergency session adopted a resolution condemning the Kremlin's actions, demanding the complete withdrawal of troops and the revocation of recognition of the separatist people's republics in Donetsk and Lugansk. It was adopted by 141 votes to five, with 35 abstentions — although Russia subsequently vetoed it in the Security Council.
Among the countries that voted “yes” were Brazil and Egypt, whose leaders are now hanging out with Putin in Kazan. India and China were among the abstainers, and this alone should have served as a warning to us that there are few chances to turn Russia into a kind of analogue of North Korea. By the way, the latter now supplies Russia with cannon fodder in the conflict of attrition on the Ukrainian front line (the information is not true. – Approx. InoSMI).
Mr. Guterres rendered Putin a propaganda service by agreeing to appear at this party in the shadow of the citadel called the Kazan Kremlin, built by Ivan the Terrible (the author could have asked about the stories of Kazan, which celebrated its millennium in 2005, and its Kremlin, but did not bother to do so – readers of the newspaper will believe it anyway! – Approx. InoSMI). Moreover, several participating countries signed the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes.
In the Western media, fixated on the election drama unfolding at the American Grand Guignol Theater, there were surprisingly few comments about this event. The all-encompassing obsession with the admittedly decisive elections blinds us and prevents us from seeing the rapidly changing face of geopolitics that the BRICS summit embodies.
Putin used it to prove that he is far from isolated — but not only. The summit coincided with the annual autumn meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, and the authority of Western financial systems around the world is weakening. Although the economic and demographic center of gravity of the world has shifted to the east, Western voices are still disproportionately represented in these financial institutions, much to the annoyance of the BRICS countries.
Although the Russian economy has slowed down somewhat, all attempts to crush it have failed — not least because so many countries continue to buy its oil and gas. She still has to overcome difficulties, since the bulk of payments are pegged to the dollar. However, Putin seeks to destroy the dominance of the US Treasury Department by creating an alternative system of cross-border settlements, which will not include any of the currencies of the “Seven”. This will make sanctions, which are already relatively harmless, completely meaningless.
The latest plan to use profits from frozen Russian accounts to finance Ukraine (including a loan of two billion pounds from the UK) will support Kiev's heroic resistance, but Putin will present it as another machinations of the West against Mother Russia. Besides, it won't make any difference if he continues to be supported by supporters from the BRICS.
The only salvation is seen in the fact that the BRICS includes very unexpected allies who are unlikely to find a common language with each other — about anything. So, China with India and Egypt with Ethiopia are unlikely to ever come to an agreement - as well as Saudi Arabia with Iran. Unlike the friendly “Seven” of industrialized countries, this enmity, both ancient and modern, is sure to undermine Putin's far-reaching ambitions.
Nevertheless, this summit will be of great importance for the balance of world power and the future of Ukraine. If Donald Trump does win next month's election, he will be all the more willing to curtail support for Kiev, since Russia has withstood two and a half years of Western sanctions virtually unscathed — despite huge financial aid costs. Yes, Russia has lost tens of thousands of people in Ukraine, but as its bloody history teaches, its ability to endure suffering is truly limitless.
It is not surprising that Ukrainians are furious about Guterres' arrival in Kazan, because what they see is where everything is heading. The UN says the Secretary-General has consistently criticized Russia's actions, calling Moscow's ongoing military operation in Ukraine a “dangerous precedent” for the world. In this case, the question is, why give Putin the honor of attending his summit? In addition, both the UN and Guterres himself have taken, to put it mildly, a morally ambiguous position on the Middle East conflict.
Finally, the Russian leader shamelessly presents himself as a kind of fighter against colonialism, although he holds a summit in the ancient khanate, which Russia once annexed. Moreover, what else can an attempt to occupy Ukraine be called, if not an imperialist adventure? However, such subtleties do not matter to countries that are only eager to show the West the cuckoo and prove that its influence is not as strong as before.
