Putin Welcomes Xi and Other World Leaders to Russia for BRICS Summit

The Russian leader wants to cast himself as a global statesman, even as the U.S. and its Western allies try to isolate him.

Isolated by the West for his war in Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia scored a diplomatic victory on Tuesday when he welcomed the leaders of China, India and South Africa at the opening of a summit of emerging market countries bidding to rebalance a world order now dominated by the United States.

Mr. Putin, who cannot travel freely abroad because of a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court, was able to cast himself as a global statesman by rolling out the red carpet for the likes of China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

Mr. Xi’s plane was escorted by a Russian fighter jet before he landed in Kazan to red-carpet treatment, which included an honor guard and women in traditional costumes bearing heaping plates of Tatar snacks known as chak-chak.

Mr. Putin received the visiting leaders at the historic Kazan Kremlin, an ornate centuries-old castle.

Meetings with foreign leaders have become more rare for Mr. Putin, and he sought to use the gathering to show that he has powerful allies and influence in the world.

“Russia-China cooperation in international affairs is one of the main stabilizing factors in the world,” he told Mr. Xi, whom he addressed as a “dear friend,” at the beginning of a bilateral meeting. “We will continue to collaborate to establish a just world order.”

The summit is perhaps the highest-profile international event in Russia since Mr. Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, or even in Russian history, according to the state RIA News Agency. Over three days, Mr. Putin will also host President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, the first NATO member to indicate interest in joining the group of countries, and the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres.

Ukraine has condemned Mr. Guterres’s planned meeting with Mr. Putin, which the Russian leader is expected to use to further reinforce his point that Russia is far from the global pariah the West has cast it as.

“For Russia to have 22 leaders and representatives of over 30 countries coming to Kazan two and a half years into this war does not only show that Putin is not isolated internationally and the I.C.C. warrant is of limited utility, but also that the war in Ukraine has become a new normal, something accepted as a feature of international reality,” said Hanna Notte of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California.

Known as BRICS — an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the grouping expanded this year to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Together, the group represents almost half the world’s population and more than 35 percent of global economic output, adjusted by purchasing power.

Still, Mr. Putin has not been able to escape the shadow of the war in Ukraine.

“We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” Mr. Modi told Mr. Putin after giving him a warm hug. “We believe that disputes should only be resolved peacefully. We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability.”

Mr. Modi has navigated the two combatants in the war carefully. This is his second visit to Russia in three months, but he also traveled to Ukraine in August. India has helped prop up Russia’s economy by purchasing discounted oil from Russian companies that have been placed under sanctions by the United States and Europe.

Some countries, among them China, Russia and Iran, want to use BRICS to challenge the power of the United States, particularly its ability to wield economic sanctions. Others like India and Brazil are more interested in reforming global institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to better serve the needs of the developing world.

The inclusion of more member states will likely make it more difficult for the group to reach consensus, diplomats and analysts say.

A key topic for the summit will be trying to build a global payments system similar to the global banking network known as SWIFT, which Russia was excluded from because of its invasion of Ukraine. Talks are also underway to add more countries to the group, including a new “partner” category that would require less involvement from interested states.

However, Ms. Notte, of the nonproliferation center, said that much of the activity at the summit is “more show than substance,” asserting that it will have limited effect on Russia’s war effort.

“All these partners in BRICS, and its associates, have thrown lifelines to Russia’s economy, support which has been meaningful and allowed Russia to prolong the war in Ukraine,” she said. “But it is not enough to put Russia into position to actually win the war.” She cited problems with manpower and ammunition.

Kazan is the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan region, which is about 800 miles from the front line with Ukraine. Despite the distance, the region has been subject to long-range Ukrainian drone attacks, including in April this year. Security in Kazan is particularly tight, with schools and universities closed and movement around the city limited.