Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy aide to Putin, stated that 36 countries have confirmed their participation, with over 20 planning to send their heads of state, the Associated Press reported. The 2024 summit coincides with the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, the two Bretton-Woods institutions that BRICS positions itself as an alternative to.

Nearly three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw Moscow condemned by countries globally, leader Vladimir Putin is staging a summit with more than a dozen world leaders – in a pointed signal from the autocrat that far from being alone,

The leaders of China, South Africa and India arrived in Russia on Tuesday for the BRICS summit of emerging economies. The meeting will see president Vladimir Putin host more than 20 heads of state, in a move that defies expectations that the Ukraine war and sanctions would isolate Russia.