Recalibrating Alliances

The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan signalled a potential thaw in Sino-Indian relation, offering India a platform to properly align itself with the regional grouping by rethinking its Western alliances

- DIPANKAR DEY

The Russian Federation hosted the 16th BRICS plus summit during October 22-24 in Kazan—the largest city and capital of Tatarstan, Russia, which lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces international isolation and is labelled a possible war criminal by the International Criminal Court (ICC), hosted 36 world leaders at the BRICS summit. The ICC arrest warrant for Putin also means he cannot travel to countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, a UN treaty that established the court, without risking arrest.

The meeting in Kazan was attended by representatives of almost 40 countries, including leaders of a number of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Asian, African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries, as well as heads of international organisations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin closed the annual BRICS plus summit on Thursday, praising its role as a counterbalance to what he called the West's "perverse methods." The three-day summit in the city of Kazan highlighted the failure of United States-led efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine, reports AP.

In a significant move, at the 16th BRICS summit Russia unveiled a symbolic BRICS banknote, stirring debate over the US dollar's dominance. Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised that the dollar is being used as a 'weapon,' but BRICS isn't rejecting the currency entirely; instead it is preparing alternatives for restricted access. India advocated for local currency settlement among BRICS nations.