BRICS summit: Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine in spotlight as leaders call for peace

World leaders called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine at the BRICS summit in Russia on Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin told them he welcomed offers to mediate in the Ukraine conflict.

The Russian leader is casting the gathering as a sign that Western attempts to isolate Moscow have failed, but faced direct calls to end the Ukraine conflict from some of his closest and most important partners.

The meeting of around 20 world leaders in the central city of Kazan is the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since the country's "special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022.

Starting in 2009 with four members — Brazil, Russia, India and China — BRICS has since expanded to include other emerging nations such as South Africa, Egypt and Iran.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told the summit there must be "no escalation of fighting" in Ukraine.

"We must adhere to the three principles of 'no spillover from the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no adding oil to the fire by relevant parties', so as to ease the situation as soon as possible," Xi said.

Russia and China signed a "no limits" strategic partnership days before Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine and Putin and Xi both hailed close ties in a bilateral meeting on Tuesday.

Without referring to any specific conflict, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also issued a call for peace.

"We support dialogue and diplomacy, not war," he said.

Mediation offers

On the Middle East, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian urged BRICS members to "use all their collective and individual capacities to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon".

Xi repeated his call for a ceasefire, saying: "We need to... stop the killing and work tirelessly for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue."

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also called for escalation in both the Middle East and Ukraine to be avoided.

"As we face two wars that have the potential to become global, it is essential to restore our ability to work together toward common goals," he said in an address to the summit via video conference.

In private talks, Putin welcomed offers by several of the BRICS leaders to mediate in Ukraine, even as he told them his forces were advancing, his spokesman said Wednesday.

Many countries "expressed a desire to contribute more actively" to resolving the conflict, state media cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as telling reporters.

Putin had also used the meetings to tout "the very positive dynamics on the front for the Russian armed forces", Peskov said.

Russia's troops have been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine for much of 2024, though neither side has been able to make a decisive breakthrough and the conflict appears locked in an attritional phase.

"Avoiding escalation and initiating peace negotiations is also crucial in the conflict between Ukraine a nd Russia," Brazil's Lula said.

Multipolar order

Xi and Modi have previously touted their own peace initiatives for Ukraine, though there has appeared to be little progress.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also at the summit, arrived in Russia on Wednesday, Russian state news agencies reported.

He will hold direct talks with Putin later on Wednesday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was also at the summit, his first visit to Russia for more than two years. He will hold talks with Putin over Ukraine on Thursday.

Moscow promotes the BRICS platform as an alternative to Western-led international organisations like the G7.

"The process of forming a multipolar world order is underway, a dynamic and irreversible process," Putin said at the official opening of the summit.

He also blasted the West for hitting BRICS members, including Russia, with sanctions, saying they could trigger a global crisis.

"Significant crisis potential also remains. And it is not only about the ever-increasing geopolitical tensions, but also ... the practice of unilateral sanctions, protectionism and unfair competition is expanding," Putin said.

Putin also called on the leaders of emerging economies to explore alternative payments and trading platforms to reduce their reliance on Western infrastructure.