Russian President Vladimir Putin engaged in a conversation with his aide Yuri Ushakov during a plenary session at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 24, 2024. — Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed BRICS leaders on Thursday, expressing concern that the Middle East was teetering on the edge of a full-scale war due to heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. However, the Kremlin leader also faced demands to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. The BRICS summit, which included over 20 leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan, highlighted the depth of Russia's connections beyond the Western world. Discussions at the summit in the Russian city of Kazan primarily focused on the war in Ukraine and the violence in the Middle East, though there was no indication that any concrete actions would be taken to resolve either conflict.
Putin, seated next to Chinese President Xi Jinping, remarked, "The level of hostility between Israel and Iran has significantly escalated. This resembles a chain reaction and places the entire Middle East on the brink of a full-scale war." Xi, speaking after Putin, emphasized that China sought a political resolution in Ukraine and proposed that joint efforts by Beijing and Brasilia offered the best hope for peace. "We need to strive for an early de-escalation of the situation and pave the way for a political settlement," Xi stated. Regarding the Middle East, Xi advocated for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, an end to the spread of war in Lebanon, and a return to the two-state solution, which would establish states for both Israel and Palestine.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized international organizations, particularly the United Nations, for their failure to end the conflict. "The flames of war continue to burn in the Gaza Strip and cities of Lebanon, and international institutions, especially the UN Security Council as a driver of international peace and security, lack the necessary effectiveness to extinguish the fire of this crisis," Pezeshkian said. Putin added that unless Palestinians achieved statehood, they would continue to bear the weight of "historical injustice," and the region would remain in "an atmosphere of perpetual crisis with inevitable outbreaks of large-scale violence." BRICS leaders, in their summit declaration, called for the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and viable Palestinian state within the borders of 1967. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attended the summit.
During one of the BRICS+ meetings on Thursday, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar represented Prime Minister Modi, who missed one of the group photographs. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva cited a head injury as the reason for his inability to travel to Russia. Xi noted that China, along with India, which together purchase about 90% of Russia's oil, supported more Global South countries joining the BRICS grouping in various formats. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who faced criticism from Kyiv for attending the meeting in Russia, emphasized the need for peace in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, and Ukraine. "We need peace in Ukraine," Guterres stated during the BRICS+ meeting chaired by Putin. "A just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law, and UN General Assembly resolutions."
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