At the recent BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Vladimir Putin called for an alternative international payment system to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar, which he argued is frequently used as a “political weapon.” This proposal is part of a larger initiative within BRICS to support “de-dollarization,” encouraging trade in currencies like the ruble and yuan, which already account for nearly 95% of trade between Russia and China. However, Brazil and India, other key members of BRICS, are cautious about this shift, aiming to avoid positioning the group as overtly anti-Western or solely pro-China.
While this de-dollarization proposal was among the most concrete initiatives discussed, the summit revealed only limited progress toward establishing an alternative payment system. Russia’s ongoing development of a system to bypass the SWIFT payment network was highlighted, but it remains uncertain how such a network would operate at a global scale. The summit attracted international attention, especially as it provided Putin with a major international platform since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and drew prominent leaders like India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China’s Premier, and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa. UN Secretary-General António Guterres was also in attendance, facing criticism from Ukraine for meeting with Putin amid an ongoing conflict.
The summit’s official communique included limited references to Ukraine, notably a single mention of a joint Brazil-China peace plan for Ukraine, which was quickly dismissed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a half-hearted attempt lacking enforceable terms. Modi voiced a strong call for peace in Ukraine, while Xi held a private discussion on the war with Putin. Meanwhile, Putin stated that Russia would not relinquish control of four regions in eastern Ukraine, complicating peace discussions further.
BRICS’s expansion was also a central issue, with several countries from the Global South expressing interest in joining the bloc. However, Brazil and India sought to keep BRICS from becoming purely an anti-Western alliance dominated by Russian and Chinese influence. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva advocated for a balanced BRICS agenda, emphasizing that vulnerable nations prioritize access to food, employment, and quality public services over geopolitical divisions.
The summit concluded with an agreement to add new members, including Cuba, Bolivia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Belarus, Turkey, Nigeria, Uganda, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Turkey’s participation drew particular attention, as it is a NATO member. While the expansion reflects BRICS’s ambition to grow its influence globally, it has also sparked debates about how the organization’s purpose might shift and whether it can remain unified with such a diverse membership base.
Agathe Demarais from the European Council of Foreign Relations remarked that while BRICS financial tools may gain some traction, the U.S. dollar remains dominant, with over 80% of global trade transactions conducted in dollars and nearly 60% of central bank reserves held in the currency. This entrenched position underscores the challenges facing BRICS as it seeks to redefine global financial structures without isolating members that depend on Western financial systems.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/23/putin-world-economy-bloc-brics-summit