The 16th BRICS Summit, which took place in the Russian city of Kazan, proved to be a symbolic diplomatic victory for Vladimir Putin. It showcased that the West’s efforts to isolate Russia have failed to resonate with much of the Global South, where Western sanctions against Moscow are widely criticized, and where many countries are engaging in hedging strategies in the midst of growing political tensions between the West on the one side and Russia and China on the other.
This was the first summit after the bloc’s decision, made last year, to expand and invite new members. In addition to the founding members of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and South Africa, which joined in 2010, the grouping now includes Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The list of participants in this week's summit also featured leaders from pro-Putin regimes like Venezuela and Belarus, but also included a noteworthy appearance by Turkey's President Erdogan. Erdogan is pursuing a multi-alignment strategy, balancing Turkey’s NATO membership with deeper engagements with other global powers. Turkey’s rapprochement with BRICS benefits Brazil and India, both eager to prevent Russia and China from framing the bloc as an anti-Western coalition.
Like Delhi and Brasília, Ankara sees BRICS as a tool to expand partnerships without undermining its ties to the West. Erdogan, like Lula, Modi, and other BRICS leaders, is hedging against geopolitical uncertainties while also leveraging closer ties to BRICS to strengthen his position in negotiations with Washington. In the same way, new members like Egypt and Ethiopia use BRICS as a platform to deepen their ties to non-Western members, yet are unlikely to go along with more radical anti-Western rhetoric embraced by Moscow or Tehran. Perhaps the most relevant question is which group within BRICS – the one which prefers multi-alignment or the one which favors an explicitly anti-Western stance – will gain the upper hand.
Some notable leaders were absent in Kazan. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite receiving an invitation last year, has yet to commit to joining. Saudi Arabia is believed to await the outcome of the US presidential elections on November 5 before making a decision on whether to join BRICS. Lula remained in Brazil after suffering an accident over the weekend. Cuba’s President Díaz-Canel canceled his trip to Russia’s BRICS summit due to the country’s energy crisis.
As usual, the summit’s declaration is vague. Little concrete achievements were made beyond the introduction of a new category: the "BRICS Partner Country." According to multiple sources, the partner countries include Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, though the significance of this status remains unclear for now. The creation of this category reflects a compromise between Russia and China, who advocate for BRICS expansion, and Brazil and India, who oppose it. While there is talk of developing formal accession criteria, reaching consensus on such guidelines seems unlikely.
Despite their differences, the BRICS nations share a common belief in the inevitability and desirability of a transition toward multipolarity, using the bloc as a platform to diversify their partnerships amidst global uncertainty. There is a shared discontent with the West's strong influence in global decision-making processes, but no consensus on how exactly to address the situation. When it comes to UN Security Council reform, for example, there is disagreement among BRICS members on the best formula, in part because South Africa, Ethiopia and Egypt are divided as to how Africa should be represented. The same is true for de-dollarization, an issue Russia has sought to prioritize to reduce its vulnerability to Western sanctions. Even more moderate BRICS leaders such as Lula have supported reducing the global dependence on the dollar, the emergence of BRICS-led alternatives remains, for now, very unlikely.
A significant outcome of the summit was an agreement between China and India to de-escalate military tensions—continuing a pattern of easing friction ahead of BRICS meetings. The agreement represents the end of a tense military standoff, and a significant thaw in Sino-Indian relations four years after armed clashes along the contested border in July 2020. On the sidelines of the Kazan summit, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi had their first bilateral meeting in five years and emphasized their commitment to reducing the risk of escalation.
