BRICS Summit: Calls for an end to fighting in Ukraine and the Middle East

Calls for an end to the fighting and the opening of negotiations in Ukraine and the Middle East were repeated on Wednesday at the BRICS summit, organized in Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin welcomed “favorably” the mediation offers from his partners.

On Ukraine, the positions of Moscow and Kiev seem irreconcilable for the time being, with fighting raging and possible peace negotiations remaining highly hypothetical, 32 months after the start of the Russian assault.

In the Middle East, the war triggered in Gaza by the bloody attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, has spread to Lebanon where the Israeli army is intensifying its offensive against Hezbollah.

We must “avoid an escalation” in Ukraine and “work together” to bring peace to the Middle East, urged Brazilian President Lula, who spoke by videoconference at the meeting of the ten BRICS leaders gathered in Kazan.

“At a time when we are facing two wars that have the potential to become global, it is essential to restore our ability to work together towards a common goal,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan, central Russia, on October 23, 2024 © POOL – Alexander NEMENOV

Chinese President Xi Jinping, has set out three principles: “no expansion of the battlefield” in Ukraine, “no escalation of fighting and no provocation by either party, in order to calm the situation as quickly as possible.”

The day before, Indian Prime Minister Modi, assuring that he was in contact with both parties, had expressed his support for all “efforts to quickly restore peace and stability.”

– Mediation –

“Many countries express a desire to contribute more actively to the settlement process, declare their readiness to play a mediating role, which is welcomed by the Russian president,” said his spokesman Dmitry Peskov, while asserting that Vladimir Putin welcomes the “positive dynamics on the front” for his soldiers in Ukraine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and his wife Emine Erdogan upon arrival in Kazan, central Russia, where the head of state is scheduled to attend the BRICS summit, October 23, 2024 © Photo host brics-russia2024.ru – Ilya PITALEV

“I call on all members of the influential BRICS group to use all their collective and individual capabilities to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon,” Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian urged.

Iran, accused of supplying drones and short-range missiles to Russia, is one of the United States' main adversaries on the international stage. China is Vladimir Putin's main supporter against the West; and India has been criticized by the West for its purchases of large quantities of Russian oil since 2022.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the BRICS summit in Kazan, central Russia, on October 23, 2024 © POOL – Alexander NEMENOV

Lula has drawn criticism in Ukraine and the West for saying responsibility for the conflict was shared, even as he has condemned Russia's February 2022 assault.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to hold talks with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine on Thursday, according to the Kremlin. The meeting would be the first in Russia between the two men since April 2022.

In Kazan, “the secretary-general will reaffirm his well-known positions on the war in Ukraine and the conditions for a just peace based on the UN charter and resolutions and international law,” Farhan Haq, a spokesman for the secretary-general, said on Tuesday.

kyiv had however estimated on Monday evening that Mr. Guterres had made “the wrong choice” by agreeing to go to Kazan. Mr. Guterres “offers a clear propaganda victory to the Putin regime”, denounced the head of Estonian diplomacy Margus Tsahkna.

– “Multipolar world” –

Another participant in the summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Kazan on Wednesday, before a meeting with Vladimir Putin later in the day. Turkey, a NATO member, asked to join the BRICS in September.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa upon arrival at the BRICS summit in Kazan, central Russia, on October 23, 2024 © POOL – Maxim Shemetov

Vladimir Putin, who is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), is restricted in his travel abroad.

With the edition he is organizing, he intends to demonstrate the failure of the Western policy of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation targeting his country.

Behind the practice of “unilateral sanctions”, there is “a strong potential for crisis”, he warned on Wednesday, adding that “the process of forming a multipolar world is underway, a dynamic and irreversible”.

The project for an international payment platform as an alternative to the Swift system, from which the main Russian banks have been excluded since 2022, is part of the same logic. With one objective: to free ourselves from the hegemony of the dollar in trade.

The BRICS represent nearly half of the world's population and nearly a third of the planet's GDP.

With four members (Brazil, Russia, India, China) when it was created in 2009 and having integrated South Africa in 2010, the BRICS (the initials of these States in English) were joined this year by Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

All reproduction and representation rights reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse