The war against Ukraine also determines the meeting of the BRICS countries. For good reason, President Putin only spoke via video link – and announced that the next summit would be in Russia.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is not attending the BRICS summit in person – he now wants to organize the next one himself. In his speech, which was videotaped at the meeting, Putin invited the representatives of the other member states to the Russian city of Kazan for October 2024.
There is no specific date yet. Overall, however, there will be more than 200 political, economic and social events.
As is well known, Putin did not come personally. The International Criminal Court wanted him on an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. In Johannesburg, the 70-year-old head of the Kremlin was therefore threatened with arrest.
Pronounced for a quick end to the war
The second day of the summit was also marked by the war against Ukraine. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva once again called for a quick end to the war. The conflict has global implications that cannot be ignored, Lula said.
According to Lula, the group of important emerging countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is an important forum for discussing issues of world security and peace. “We see it as positive that a growing number of countries, including BRICS countries, are in direct contact with Moscow and Kyiv,” said Lula.
At the beginning of the year, the Brazilian President promoted an international mediation initiative to settle the Ukraine war.
Ramaphosa for negotiations
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa also advocated solving the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine through negotiations. “The BRICS countries will support efforts to end this conflict through dialogue, mediation and negotiations,” said the 70-year-old.
Ramaphosa leads an African peace initiative to end the war. However, recent mediation efforts by the initiative in Moscow and Kiev have had no discernible success. Ukraine is demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory before the start of possible negotiations.
In February, Brazil voted for a UN resolution in which the world community again called on Putin to withdraw his troops by a large majority. South Africa abstained at the time. The summit runs until Thursday.