Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and a number of other world leaders arrived in the Russian city of Kazan on Tuesday for the summit of the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, which the Kremlin described as one of the "largest foreign policy events in history" of Russia, reports "Reuters".
The BRICS group now accounts for 45% of the world's population and 35% of its economy, based on purchasing power parity, although China accounts for over half of its economic power.
Putin, who has been portrayed by the West as a war criminal, told reporters from the BRICS countries that "BRICS does not oppose anyone" and that the change in the engines of global growth is simply a fact.
"It is an association of countries that work together on the basis of common values, a common vision of development and, most importantly, the principle of mutual consideration of interests,", he said.
The BRICS summit comes as global finance chiefs gather in Washington amid a war in the Middle East as well as Ukraine, China's stalled economy and fears that the US presidential election could ignite new trade battles.
Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, was peppered with questions from reporters about prospects for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Putin's response was, in short, that Moscow would not trade with the four regions of eastern Ukraine, which it says are now part of Russia, although parts of them remain outside its control, and that it wanted its long-term security interests to be taken into account in Europe.
Two Russian sources said that while there was increasing talk in Moscow of a possible ceasefire agreement, nothing concrete was yet in place - and that the world was awaiting the outcome of the November 5 presidential election in the United States.
A advancing Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it seized and unilaterally annexed in 2014, about 80% of Donbas - comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - and more than 70% of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions .
Putin said the West now understood that Russia would win, but that he was open to negotiations based on draft ceasefire agreements reached in Istanbul in April 2022.
On the eve of the BRICS summit, Putin met with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for informal talks that lasted until midnight at his residence in Novo-Ogarevo near Moscow.
Putin praised both Sheikh Mohammed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will not attend the Kazan summit, for their mediation efforts on Ukraine.
"I assure you that we will continue to work in this direction," Sheikh Mohammed told Putin. "We are ready to make any effort to resolve crises and in the interest of peace, in the interest of both countries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend, although Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva canceled his trip following medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights following a head injury at home that caused a minor brain haemorrhage.
The BRIC acronym was coined in 2001 by then-Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O'Neill in a research paper highlighting the enormous growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China this century.
Russia, India and China began to meet more formally, eventually adding Brazil, then South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has not yet officially joined.
The BRICS share of global GDP is forecast to rise to 37% by the end of this decade, while the share of the Group of Seven major Western economies (G-7) will decline to around 28% from 30% this year. according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Russia is seeking to persuade the BRICS countries to build an alternative platform for international payments that would be immune to Western sanctions.
But divisions abound in BRICS. China and India, the biggest buyers of Russian oil, have a rocky relationship, and there is little love between the Arab nations and Iran.