Leaders of BRICS countries — China's Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, India's Narendra Modi, and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa — at the BRICS summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019. The leaders met virtually this year. Sputnik/Alexey Nikolsky/Kremlin via Reuters
* Putin is meeting leaders of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) alliance this week.
* Putin said Russian trade with BRICS nations rose 38% between January and March despite Western sanctions.
* The meeting shows Putin still has friends despite the backlash to his Ukraine invasion.
President Vladimir Putin is meeting this week with a group of prominent world leaders, a reminder that Russia still has powerful allies despite the backlash to its invasion of Ukraine.
Putin is attending a virtual meeting of the BRICS alliance on Thursday, a group made up of Russia, India, China, Brazil, and South Africa founded in 2009.
The leaders released pre-recorded speeches on Wednesday, all which went without criticism of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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WNU Editor: For Russia this is a huge economic shift but necessary in view of sanctions .... Isolated Putin says trade with China and India is increasing (CNBC). More here .... Vladimir Putin says Russia's trade with China, India, Brazil, and South Africa has jumped 38% amid sanctions and war in Ukraine (Insider).