Putin presides over Brics summit seeking to expand Russia’s clout

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a photo call prior to the Outreach/Brics Plus format session at the Brics Summit in Kazan, Russia (Maxim Shipenkov/AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday presided over a closing session of a summit of the Brics bloc of developing economies, hailing its role as a counterbalance to the West.

The three-day summit in the city of Kazan covered the deepening of financial cooperation, including the development of alternatives to Western-dominated payment systems, as well as settling regional conflicts and moving to expand the Brics group of countries.