In the ancient Russian city of Kazan, the Summit of BRICS countries is taking place –– the biggest international event since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Journalist forthe British The Telegraph Philip Johnston is wondering how “an international pariah” Vladimir Putin was able to gather the leaders of 36 states, representing almost half of the world’s globe? Is it true that, for nearly three years of war and dozens of thousands of sanctions, the West succeeded in isolating Russia completely?

“What happened to the isolation of Russia over its illegal invasion of Ukraine? In the city of Kazan, leaders of more than 30 countries have gathered for a summit that is nothing less than a diplomatic coup for Vladimir Putin. He is far from being shunned as an international pariah”, Johnston says.

The British journalist is confused. The West has allocated billions of dollars to Kyiv, sheltered thousands of Ukrainian refugees, imposed thousands of sanctions on Russia, including restrictions on vital exports of oil and gas. But for Moscow, it’s like a water off a duck’s back. 

Reporter for the British BBC Grigor Atanesian writes, as though responding to his colleague:

“For Russian president Vladimir Putin, the summit in Kazanis an opportunity to show to the West, as well as to the Russians, that he is not a pariah. He is exactly like that for the United States and its allies, but diplomats and officials from more than 30 countries representing the Global South do not agree with this. The readiness of these counties’ leaders to visit Russia and shake hands with Putin shows, what Moscow’s illegal invasion to Ukraine to the most representatives of the Global South is an ordinary regional conflict, and not an existential threat to the world order, as seen in Washington and European capitals”. 

Further, Timothy Nerozzi, a journalist for the American newspaper The Washington Examiner even called the event a potential “political win for Vladimir Putin”, because Russian president provided the platform for China-India talks. By doing so he contributed to “the consequential thawing of relations between the two powers after years of entanglement over border concerns.”

In turn, Ukraine supporters, as well as Ukrainians themselves, are bewildered. Thus, Liliana Oleniak, a journalist for the RBC –– Ukraine, writes: “The most outrageous thing for Ukraine is that the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, was invited to the BRICS Summit”. While Yevgenia Sokolenko, a correspondent for the Ukrainian newspaper UNIAN, recallsthat Guterres refused to attend the Ukrainian Peace Summit in Switzerland in the summer of 2024.

Even the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, could not stay away and not comment on this event: 

“BRICS helps Putin to show to the world and above all, to his society, that Russia isn’t isolated. I believe that our partnersshould work harder, in order to not all at the level of leaders would come to Putin. It seems important for me”. 

And what about the partners? The partners arrived exactly at the BRICS Summit in Kazan. It’s about the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Even the president of the country, which sells high-tech weapons to Ukraine and whose army is the second in NATO, wanted to meet “pariah” Vladimir Putin. Turkish political scientist Kerim Has in an interview with The New York Times said about Erdogan’s visit the following:

“Erdogan may have calculated that BRICS has become a bloc that he can’t ignore. It is as if there is a train that should be caught. If he is late for it, it would be more difficult to become a member”. 

Surprisingly, former Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby expressed his opinion on the Summit in Kazan, as if he hadn’t read the news: “Russia is increasingly isolated on the world stage. There’s no question about that”. 

Nevertheless, there are still some doubts, and the BRICS Summit in Russia is a vivid confirmation of this.