For Vladimir Putin, the optics could not be better.
More than two and a half years into his war in Ukraine, he is shaking hands this week with not just one world leader, or two, but more than 20.
China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian…there’s even Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of a NATOmember state and EU candidate country.
They have all come to the Russian city of Kazan for the BRICS summit of emerging economies.
As you might expect, the Russian president was positively beaming as he sat down with various heads of state for a string of one-on-one meetings.
The message from the Kremlin is loud and clear – the West’s efforts to isolate Russia have not worked. Instead of losing friends, Moscow has made them.
“It shows something about the weakness of the sanctions regime,” Mark Galeotti, principal director of Mayak Intelligence, told Sky News.
“There was a lot of exaggerated sense as to how the West could put a stranglehold on Russia, and many countries are, frankly, not willing to play those games.
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“It highlights the degree to which in this incredibly complex, multi-connected, modern world, it’s very hard to actually isolate any country, especially one as large and as engaged in global commerce as Russia.”
The first BRIC summit was in 2009, involving Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined in 2010 to add the S on the end of the acronym.
For much of the last decade and a half, the group has been dismissed by economists as an alphabet soup of countries – too spread out and fundamentally different from one another to form any meaningful alliance.
But in the last few years, it has grown more significant and seemingly influential.
‘A powerful platform’
The group has expanded its membership to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has also been invited to join, and according to Russia, there are dozens of other countries that want to become part of the club.
That’s despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the West’s attempts to cast Mr Putin as a war criminal.
“A lot of countries in the Global South are really tone deaf to rhetoric about Russia breaking the rules,” Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told Sky News.
Handshake between Putin and Xi will be key moment at BRICS but temperatures are high
For China, the BRICS conference is another opportunity to show the West that when it comes to its multi-polar vision of the world it’s not alone.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin are united in actively challenging the US-led international order.
One of the key moments of this BRICS will be a handshake between these leaders.
Behind it though the international temperature is high.
The US has imposed sanctions on two China-based companies and their alleged Russian business partners, accusing them of supplying complete weapons systems to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Previously China was accused of sending dual-use items like machinery tools and semiconductors to Russia, but not complete weapons.
The US Treasury Department said China and Russia had collaborated to produce Moscow’s ‘Garpiya series’ of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.
There are two dozen countries with emerging economies also attending the BRICS summit who are not yet members.
Clearly interest from countries in the “global south” is strong.
But for many of them it’s not about choosing the West or China. It’s about having options in an increasingly complicated and fragmented world.
“All the questions ‘what about Iraq?’ are not driven by Russian propaganda points but by genuine concern about the US abusing its role as the most powerful country.
“They realise that the current international order underwritten by the US doesn’t really deliver for them and they don’t know what the alternative is but BRICS is really a powerful platform where these issues can be discussed.”
Top of the agenda this week is an alternative platform for international payments, which Mr Putin hopes will end the dominance of the dollar and make the BRICS economies immune to Western sanctions.
Because despite all the talk of sanctions not having the desired effect, they have caused Russia problems.
It’s been cut off from international markets, and more recently, the country’s had difficulties with cross-border trade, even with friendly countries like China, because it’s linked to the dollar and there’s a threat of secondary sanctions by the US.
An entirely new system, not involving the dollar, would bypass those issues. But it’s unlikely to come to fruition this week.
For one, the idea is still in its infancy. What’s more, not all the BRICS members, like India and Brazil, share Mr Putin’s anti-Western sentiment.
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“There is concern among these countries about how close you want to move towards Russia or an agenda that’s seen as enabling this horrible war from Russia in Ukraine,” Mr Gabuev said.
Brazil and India are not alone. Saudi Arabia and Turkey also share strong ties with the West. Their presence in Kazan can be seen more as an attempt to play both sides, rather than overt support of Russia.
But that does not seem to matter to the residents of Kazan. Most people we have spoken to here view the summit as the Kremlin intends.
“This is a wonderful event,” Alexandra told us. “I think that this will be a breakthrough and that the world has become multipolar.”
Alexei is another who is proud of his president.
“He is looking in all directions and it’s bearing fruit,” he said. “If someone thinks we’re isolated, it is probably only their problem.”
Not everyone shares that opinion, though.
Favaris points to Russia’s closer ties with North Korea: “If you are friends with an outcast, then you have fallen lower than ever.”
Arrest warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence secretary Yoav Gallant and a senior Hamas commander by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The warrants against the senior Israeli figures are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza that Israel launched following the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
The prime minister’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Another warrant was issued for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masrifor alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas”.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The court originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and today announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.
“The court has minimised how Hamas fights – deliberately from within civilian infrastructure and cruelly using Palestinian civilians as human shields, tragically leading to many casualties,” the board said.
“Democratic governments, and people around the world, should consider how they would have responded to an October 7th perpetrated against their country, involving mass murder, rape, and hostage-taking.
“We should all be focused on defeating the Hamas terrorists, liberating the hostages, ensuring that civilians in Gaza receive all necessary aid and working towards a sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians to prevent these horrible conflicts in the future.
“The decision of the ICC is counter-productive in all these respects.”
Three arrest warrants have been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) but the two most significant are those against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
The court in their statement said that they have reasonable grounds to believe that those two men, have been carrying out the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
Ever since the arrest warrants were first sought there have been a lot of legal challenges. But the court has rejected all that and has now issued these arrest warrants.
So what does it mean? Well, practically, it would mean that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant couldn’t travel to any state that is a signatory of the ICC – about 120 countries around the world, including the UK and many European countries.
Were Netanyahu to travel to any of those countries, he should be arrested by the police forces of those countries. And it’ll be very interesting to see what Sir Keir Starmer’s reaction is to this.
But the US, Israel’s closest ally, is not a signatory of the ICC. I think Netanyahu will have support on the other side of the Atlantic.
Also, these ICC arrest warrants don’t always get carried out. We saw President Vladimir Putin, who had an arrest warrant issued for him after the invasion of Ukraine, travel to Mongolia a couple of months ago and nothing was done about that.
But in terms of the reputations of Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, in terms of that legacy, they are now wanted suspects, wanted to be put on trial for war crimes. And it is a label that will never leave them.
Warrant for Hamas leader
The ICC also said it has issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Al Masri, saying it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that he is responsible for crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, rape, as well as war crimes including taking hostages.
Discussing the 7 October attacks, the court said: “In light of the coordinated killings of members of civilians at several separate locations, the Chamber also found that the conduct took place as part of a mass killing of members of the civilian population, and it therefore concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.”
In its statement, the ICC said the prosecution was not in a position to determine whether Al Masri is dead or alive, so was issuing the arrest warrant.
The court previously said it was seeking an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas who was subsequently killed in July.
The home secretary has refused to say if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he landed on British soil after an international arrest warrant was issued for him.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence secretary Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.
But Yvette Cooper said the ICC, which the UK is a member of, is independent and while the government respects that, it “wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment” on the processes involved.
She told Sky News: “We’ve always respected the importance of international law, but in the majority of the cases that they pursue, they don’t become part of the British legal process.
“What I can say is that obviously, the UK government’s position remains that we believe the focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”
However, Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee in parliament, told Sky News: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC.
“Not really a question of should, we are required to because we are members of the ICC.”
An ICC arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks in Israel, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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Israel claims Al Masri was killed earlier this year but the ICC said that has not been confirmed, so it was issuing the arrest warrant.
Netanyahu’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.”
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Netanyahu to visit Hungary and he would guarantee the arrest warrant would “not be observed”.
However, both France and Italy signalled they would arrest Netanyahu if he came to their countries.
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Why have arrest warrants been issued?
The ICC originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and on Thursday announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
It is the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.
A second Australian teenager has died after being poisoned with methanol in Laos, bringing the number of people killed to six.
Holly Bowles, 19, has died, according to the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong, who said: “All Australians will be heartbroken by the tragic passing of Holly Bowles. I offer my deepest sympathies to her family and friends.”
Bianca Jones, who according to Australian authorities was Ms Bowles’s best friend, died earlier this week after both 19-year-olds fell ill on 13 November while staying in southeast Asian country.
They are two of six people who are believed to have died after drinking methanol-laced vodka in the tourist hotspot.
The death of British woman Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, was announced on Thursday. She fell ill after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers.
Two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen also died as a result of the mass poisoning.
Methanol, which is sometimes added to mixed drinks as a cheaper alternative to alcohol, but can cause severe poisoning or death.
The manager and owner of the hostel where the two Australians, both from Melbourne, were staying, has been detained, according to an officer at Vang Vieng’s Tourism Police office who refused to give his name.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.