The BRICS summit in Russia will be the "the largest foreign policy event ever held" by Russia, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov has said. The summit with include 36 countries with over 20 represented by heads of state. Russian President Vladimir Putin has positioned the BRICS summit as a counterweight to the West.

Russia is hosting a BRICS summit for the first time, with 4 new members. But efforts to rival the West will be hard, geopolitics experts told BI.

President Vladimir Putin will play host to Russia’s biggest gathering of world leaders, including the heads of 32 countries, since the invasion of Ukraine.