China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi and others have arrived in the Russian city of Kazan for the developing economies' summit meant to counterbalance Western clout.

Vladimir Putin sees the meeting with world leaders as a powerful way to demonstrate the failure of US-led efforts to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

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.