A sneering Vladimir Putin goaded the West today as he rubbed shoulders with his remaining world leader allies, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are due to join Putin alongside leaders of the new BRICS members, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia.
Around 20 world leaders are gathering in the central city of Kazan, the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.
The conference, the most important since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, comes as Putin seeks to show Western attempts to isolate Moscow over the two-and-a-half-year offensive have failed.