EU Urges BRICS Countries to Tell Putin to End Ukraine War

Officials, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attend the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 23, 2024. (Alexei Danichev/BRICS-RUSSIA2024.RU Host Photo Agency via REUTERS)

(Reuters) - The European Union on Wednesday urged countries attending the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, to ask President Vladimir Putin to end Moscow's war in Ukraine.

More than 20 leaders, including Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are attending the summit.

EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano condemned "Russia's misuse" of its chairmanship of the group, noting that there is an arrest warrant for the Russian leader.

"We trust that all participants of the summit in Kazan will use this event to call on Putin once again to immmediately end the war against the Ukrainian people," he said.

The spokesperson also said the EU supports United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who is attending the summit.

"We trust that he will reinforce the call on Russia and on Putin to completely and unconditionally stop the brutal aggression against the Ukrainian people," he said.



(Reporting by Lili Bayer; editing by Barbara Lewis)