Putin welcomes Iran, India and China to BRICS summit to discuss 'new world order' and challenge West

This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin gathered more than two dozen countries to discuss a “new world order” free from Western hegemony and the global dominance of the US dollar.

From Tuesday to Thursday, about two dozen members will descend on this year's BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, giving Putin his biggest global platform since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

By reducing dependence on the dollar, the alliance hopes to evade sanctions imposed by the United States and the West.

“The dollar is being used as a weapon,” Putin said at the summit. “We really see that this is the case. I think this is a big mistake by those who do this.”

In a crucial move, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the summit to express their hopes for a more harmonious relationship after decades of cross-border conflict.

It came just days after China and India agreed to a deal that would end their four-year military conflict over the disputed Himalayan region.

Ukraine criticizes the UN chief over a possible meeting with Putin in the BRICS countries and claims he stayed away from the peace summit in Kiev

This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin gathered over two dozen countries to discuss a “new world order” free from Western hegemony and the global dominance of the US dollar. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool via REUTERS)

“Cooperation between Russia and China in international affairs is one of the most important stabilizing factors in the world,” Putin told Xi at the summit.

Meanwhile, India is propping up the Russian economy by buying discounted oil that has been sanctioned by much of the rest of the world.

BRICS – which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – was the brainchild of Goldman Sachs analysts to describe the growing economic hegemony of China and other emerging markets.

The group is growing rapidly: Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia joined in January. turkeyAzerbaijan and Malaysia have officially applied – Turkey was the first NATO member to show interest in the group. Pakistan has also expressed interest in joining the group.

The alliance now accounts for half of the world's population and 35% of world production.

Some member states such as Egypt receive US military aid and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) host US military bases.

Russian officials already consider the three-day summit a major success: Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said 36 countries had confirmed their participation and 24 would send representatives.

The China-dominated bloc is offering membership to Iran and Saudi Arabia, aimed at weakening us

Russia is also wooing more countries to join a payment system that would serve as an alternative to SWIFT, which has been used by the West to sanction Russian officials.

While Russia promotes an anti-Western agenda at the summit, members such as Brazil, India and South Africa want a less combative tone. They believe the alliance should be used to adapt international institutions to the needs of the Global South. They believe they could work to reform the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to meet the needs of developing countries.

Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS)

Creating an alternative to SWIFT would require BRICS-based currencies and financial institutions to conduct international business – and so far BRICS members have not presented a clear plan to replace the dollar.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an address to the summit that BRICS must be more than just a “dialogue club,” saying that 15 years after the alliance was founded, many of its goals remain unfulfilled.

He addressed the increasingly frequent threat of sanctions from the West.

“In more than three decades since the collapse of the bipolar system, it has become increasingly clear that, from the perspective of Western powers, peace, democracy, prosperity and development can only be achieved through paths determined by them,” he said.

“This monopolistic attitude has led to increased violence, war and terrorism on the one hand and an unprecedented use of economic and political sanctions on the other.”

Putin shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS)

Dollar assets currently account for around 59% of global foreign exchange reserves, compared to 70% in 1999.

Former President Donald Trump has promised “100 percent tariffs” on countries that disregard the U.S. dollar, arguing that losing the dollar as a global currency would be akin to “losing a war.”

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“I imposed sanctions, but I imposed and lifted them as quickly as possible because ultimately it kills your dollar and it kills everything the dollar represents. And we have to make sure it continues to be the world currency.” “I think it would be a war if we lost the dollar as the world currency,” he told the Economic Club in New York in September.

“That would make us a third world country. They lose Russia. China is out there trying to make their currency the dominant currency.”