Financial co-operation and Brics expansion on table as Putin hosts leaders

Vladimir Putin welcomed his counterparts from China and India (Pool via AP)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has hosted China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and other world leaders at a summit of the Brics bloc of developing economies – part of the Kremlin’s efforts to challenge Western global clout.

Speaking at the start of the Brics meeting, Mr Putin underlined deepening co-operation in the financial sector as part of its agenda.