Cape town: On Friday, South Africa made an effort to divert attention from its position on the Ukraine conflict by hosting a BRICS meeting that was overshadowed by concerns about a potential visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
For a second day, top diplomats from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa gathered in Cape Town to discuss the bloc's desire to offer an alternative to a western-led international system.
The focus of this week's meeting, however, has been on whether Putin would attend a subsequent meeting of the bloc in August after being invited before an ICC arrest warrant was issued.
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The International Criminal Court has declared Putin to be wanted in relation to claims that Russia forcibly deported Ukrainian children.
South Africa, a member of the ICC with solid business and economic ties to the US and Europe, is likely to detain him if he enters the nation.
Pretoria is in a difficult diplomatic position as a result of the issue, and during the first day of talks, ministers largely sidestepped a barrage of questions about Putin.
Naledi Pandor, the foreign minister of South Africa, tried to divert attention from Putin and the conflict in Ukraine on Friday. The majority of the world's territory, people, and economy are represented by the countries gathered in this room, according to Pandor.
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For a "Friends of BRICS" event, representatives from about a dozen other countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Kazakhstan, attended in person or virtually.
The BRICS ministers on Thursday expressed appreciation for the interest that they claimed many nations had shown in joining the group.
In his opening remarks on Friday, Pandor stated that "we in this room need to determine a plan of action for our nations and for the world." She continued, ostensibly alluding to the conflict in Ukraine, "We cannot allow the desire to eradicate global poverty to replace the ambition of eradicating global poverty as the world's greatest global challenge."
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Russia's invasion of its neighbour has increased food and energy costs globally, worsening the food insecurity in developing nations.
Pandor attacked western countries, claiming that since the war had "diverted" their "attention and resources," the world had "faltered in cooperation." "The great powers are involved in world conflict and the plight of the poor is forgotten," she said. "We have to change this,"