- BRICS’ Kazan Declaration on Wednesday contained 134 points — and only one discussed the Ukraine war.
- That point was a call for all parties to abide by UN standards, despite Russia hosting this year.
- It shows that Russia still has trouble getting friendly countries on board with the war, per the ISW.
Over two dozen world leaders at this year’s BRICS summit ended Wednesday’s talks with the Kazan Declaration, a 134-point summary of their agreements.
The war in Ukraine was only mentioned once in the 43-page document, and though Russian leader Vladimir Putin hosted the event, its wording is a far cry from the Kremlin’s preferred rhetoric.
That single paragraph contained none of Russia’s usual talking points, instead urging all parties to act in accordance with United Nations standards — a more neutral statement often used by nations like China.
“We emphasize that all states should act consistently with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and interrelation,” the document reads. “We note with appreciation relevant proposals of mediation and good offices, aimed at a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.”
The Institute for the Study of War wrote on Wednesday that the language in the document shows that Russia, despite its leading position at the summit, still isn’t able to shape the stances of friendly world leaders on its war.
“The Kazan Declaration notably only mentioned Russia’s war in Ukraine once,” the Washington-based think tank wrote.
Russia has denied the sovereignty of Ukraine and said its invasion is justified as a counter to NATO’s expansion and due to debunked allegations that Ukraine is a Nazi-run state.
The declaration “demonstrated that Russia has not yet secured the international support nor created the alternative security structure that the Kremlin desires,” ISW added.
That’s significant because Moscow has been trying to get its allies on board with its invasion while the West isolates the Russian economy in response. The US and Ukraine have repeatedly accused China, a founding BRICS member, of supplying Russia with weapons parts and economic support.
Yet several founding members of the BRICS group, such as Brazil and India, still maintain strong economic ties with the US amid its support for Kyiv.
The Kazan Declaration, meanwhile, condemned Israeli actions in the Middle East in five points, including criticism of a strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria, Tel Aviv’s invasion of southern Lebanon, and the war in Gaza.
World leaders also spent two paragraphs discussing the South Sudanese Civil War.
The summit also exposed the difficulties that Western sanctions have inflicted on life in Russia. Leaders met in Kazan, which is in the southwestern Republic of Tatarstan region.
Business Insider’s Huileng Tan wrote that organizers said card transactions there would be unavailable due to restrictions on Mastercard and Visa cards issued outside Russia.
Attendees were instead asked to bring cash in US dollars or euros — the same currencies that Putin has been trying to get his allied countries to drop — to exchange for rubles at Russian banks.
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