[arista]

This front page from
yesterday.






[Putin gathers allies to show West's pressure isn’t working


Imagine you're Vladimir Putin.

The West has dubbed you a pariah for invading
Ukraine. Sanctions are aiming to cut off
your country's economy from global markets.
And there's an arrest warrant out for you from
the International Criminal Court.
How can you show the pressure is not working?
Try hosting a summit.

This week in the city of Kazan
President Putin will greet more
than 20 heads of state at the Brics summit
of emerging economies.
Among the leaders invited are
China’s Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Iranian President
Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Kremlin has called it one of the
"largest-scale foreign policy events
ever" in Russia.

"The clear message is that attempts
to isolate Russia have failed," thinks
Chris Weafer, founding partner of
consultancy firm Macro-Advisory.

"It's a big part of the messaging from
the Kremlin that Russia is
withstanding sanctions.
We know there are severe cracks beneath
the surface.
But at a geopolitical level Russia has all
these friends and they’re all going to
be Russia's partners."

So, who are Russia's friends?

Brics stands for Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa. The grouping,
often referred to as a counterweight to
the Western-led world,
has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia,
Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia, too, has been invited to join.]


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly3ylwg4eqo