UPDATE - China’s Xi Jinping to attend BRICS summit in Russia next month

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By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - China’s President Xi Jinping will visit Russia next month to attend summit of the BRICS grouping, the country's Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed on Thursday.

The confirmation came as Russian President Vladimir Putin met Wang on the sidelines of the BRICS security summit in St. Petersburg.

The 16th BRICS summit is scheduled for Oct. 22-24 in the Russian city of Kazan.

Xi’s visit to Russia will be his second since Russia launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine in 2022.

In his opening remarks, Putin emphasized that Russia and China stand united in defending the principles of a just and democratic world order, grounded in international law, sovereignty, and equality.

"This approach is also supported by like-minded nations from the Global South, which was evident once again during the recent BRICS summit," he added.

Putin also highlighted the continued success of Russia-China relations across various fields.

"Our bilateral cooperation is progressing smoothly in every direction, from coordination on the international stage to economic, cultural, and humanitarian collaboration. These areas remain central to our agenda and will be key topics in our upcoming discussions with the President of the People's Republic of China during both multilateral and bilateral meetings in Kazan."

BRICS, founded in 2009 with Brazil, Russia, India, and China, added South Africa in 2011, expanding its name, formed from the first letters of names of the founder countries, to BRICS. In December 2023, six more countries joined, but despite the expansion, the collective decision was made to preserve the name BRICS.

- Meeting with Indian, Iranian officials

Putin also had separate meetings with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval and secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Ahmadian.

"Our particularly privileged strategic partnership is gaining momentum, gaining strength, which we are only glad about. We are also pleased with India's success in building, strengthening its statehood, and developing the economy, which is taking place under the leadership of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi," Putin said at a meeting with the Indian security official.

Putin said security issues have always been and remain among priorities of the Russian-Indian cooperation, and asked Doval to convey Modi a proposal to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit in Kazan.

Doval, for his part, said Modi instructed him to brief Putin on his visit to Ukraine and about his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"He wanted me to come personally and tell you about the negotiations that took place. It was a closed format, only two leaders were present, and I was with the prime minister, I witnessed this conversation," he said. Modi visited Ukraine in August, after his July trip to Moscow.

Meeting Ali Ahmadian, Putin said that in recent years friendly Russian-Iranian relations have gained momentum thanks to the support of the supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

"We appreciate that cooperation with Russia remains a priority for the team of the new president, Masoud Peseshkian. We are waiting for him in Kazan on Oct. 22-24 for the BRICS summit. I think we will find time for a separate two-way conversation," he said.

Putin also invited the Iranian president to pay an official visit to Russia.

"It is also important to note that after last year's decline in mutual trade, the trade turnover between Russia and Iran adjusted positively in the first half of this year, it increased by almost 10%. ... Among the priority projects is the development of the North–South transport corridor, we have returned many times and are constantly working on this topic. I once again confirm my interest in the implementation of this large project," he said.