Final day of BRICS Summit: Putin’s press conference, Palestine’s bid, and Maduro’s presence

Brasil de Fato

On Thursday (24), Russian President Vladimir Putin held a press conference at the end of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. He discussed the Ukraine conflict, partner members, and other summit negotiations. Around 300 journalists attended, and the Russian leader spoke for about 20 minutes, answering questions from local and foreign media.  

Putin said that all the BRICS countries are committed to ensuring that the conflict in Ukraine ends peacefully and as quickly as possible.  

Speaking about the reasons that led to the war, Putin said that Western countries “were actively arming the Kyiv regime, leading to the direct participation of soldiers from the armies of NATO countries in the conflict. The Russian President stressed that many BRICS countries supported Brazil and China’s proposal to resolve the dispute.   

“Everyone is committed to ensuring that the conflict ends as quickly as possible and by peaceful means. The People’s Republic of China and Brazil presented an initiative during the assembly in New York. Many BRICS countries support this initiative. We, in turn, are grateful to our partners for paying attention to this conflict and looking for ways to resolve it,” said the Russian leader.   

Putin also addressed Venezuela’s potential accession to the BRICS group, emphasizing that it requires the consent of all member countries, and Brazil would oppose this. 

“Regarding the admission of Venezuela or any other state to BRICS, I want to say that this is only possible with consensus. We have a rule that requires the consent of all participants to admit any candidate to the BRICS association. Without this unity, it is impossible to take this step,” said Putin.  

The Russian leader noted differences between his country’s and Brazil’s positions on Venezuela, pointing out that Moscow recognizes Nicolás Maduro’s legitimacy following the presidential elections in the South American country. 

“Our position does not coincide with Brazil’s on Venezuelan issues. I talk about it openly. We spoke about it on the phone the day before yesterday with the president of Brazil, with whom I have very good relations, I consider them to be friendly relations,” said Putin. 

Maduro at the BRICS 

During his speech at the BRICS summit on Thursday (24), Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called for a comprehensive reform of the international financial and monetary system, emphasizing the inclusion of Global South countries. 

“We need a new economic agenda for international trade, with practical solutions for monetary exchange. A new world monetary system is a necessity. And we have to be clear about it. It’s not just about making small reforms to the monetary and financial system, which seems unable to withstand reforms, because they want to reimpose the hegemony of Western colonial countries through currency mechanisms, the financial system, credits, and economic packages with conditions,” said the president. 

Maduro stated that global trade needs to include a basket of currencies that not only includes those of hegemonic countries, such as the dollar and the euro, but also the possibility of using local currencies. He called for “bolder steps” by the BRICS Bank in investing in countries of the Global South and the creation of a new payments bank. 

The Venezuelan also stressed the need for a reformulation of the United Nations (UN). 

Palestine hopes to be accepted into BRICS soon   

Palestine has confirmed its intention to join the BRICS and share the bloc’s values. This was stated by the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, during his participation in Thursday’s first plenary meeting of the 16th BRICS Summit (24).   

“I congratulate the new countries joining the association – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Iran. Their accession to the group demonstrates their growing political weight and influence in the international arena. We hope that Palestine will also be accepted into the group soon,” said Abbas.   

According to the Palestinian leader, the growing interest of many countries in the BRICS is linked to the desire to develop a new, fairer, and more balanced world order. He also stressed that it is important to implement the UN Security Council’s decision on a ceasefire, guaranteeing humanitarian access and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.   

In the final document of the 16th BRICS Summit, the “Kazan Declaration,” the group’s countries reaffirmed their “support for the full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations in the context of the unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution.”  

Despite not officially declaring which countries have been accepted to join the BRICS as partners, the Brasil de Fato report found out from Brazilian diplomatic sources that the bloc’s countries have reached a definition of 13 countries to join the association as “partner states.”   

However, these countries’ entry will not be made official during the summit. According to this definition, the Russian presidency will hold consultations with the partner countries to make membership official. The group of countries invited as “partner states” are Turkey, Indonesia, Algeria, Belarus, Cuba, Bolivia, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Vietnam, Nigeria, and Uganda.