Leaders of Cuba and Serbia did not attend the BRICS summit in kazan
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic did not attend the BRICS summit in kazan.
Despite their traditionally close relations with russia, Cuba will be represented at the summit by its foreign minister, while Serbia will be represented by four ministers.
Bermúdez’s absence is due to Cuba’s ongoing energy crisis, which has left residents without electricity for three days. The Serbian president explained that “it would be very difficult for him to come because of various things that putin is well aware of.”
▪️ The leaders of Cuba and Serbia are not the only heads of state skipping the highly publicized summit. It was previously announced that the presidents of Brazil and Indonesia, as well as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, would not attend. In addition, Kazakhstan had earlier declined to join the BRICS.
This year, russia is presiding over BRICS, an organization founded in 2006. Moscow has been making significant efforts to shift the bloc towards an anti-Western stance and to engage as many Global South countries as possible. However, many countries remain cautious about deepening ties with russia.
