Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin has said all the efforts of his country are to put an end to the war in Ukraine which he claimed was “unleashed by the West and its satellites.”

Putin made this statement on Wednesday at the inaugural BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, which he attended virtually.

The summit which was organised by the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa represents a quarter of the global economy, and interest in joining the group surged ahead of its three-day summit in Johannesburg.

Putin refused to travel to the summit which began on Tuesday in Africa over an outstanding International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest over the abduction of children from Ukraine.

The Russian leader who gave a 17-minute prerecorded speech addressed to the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa accused the West of oppression actions aimed at the people of Donbass

“Our actions in Ukraine are dictated by only one thing – to stop the war unleashed by the West and their satellites against people living in Donbass,” Putin said

“It should be noted that many countries that wanted to preserve their hegemony, launched a difficult conflict in Ukraine. Russia decided to support those who fought for their language, culture and language, and to oppose those who threatened the life of people in Donbass.”

On the future of BRICS, he said “Our group of the five countries has rightly proved to be a credible entity in the global arena, with an ever-growing influence in global affairs. The strategic course of BRICS is aimed at the future .”

“The main thing is that we are all unanimous for the formation of a multipolar world order that is truly fair and based on international law while respecting the key principles of the UN Charter, including sovereign rights and respect for the right of each nation to its own development model.”

Putin took further swipes at the Western bloc, denouncing what he claimed were attempts to influence the political and economic affairs of other countries

“We are against any kind of hegemony that some countries promote because of their exclusivity and based on this postulate of a new policy – the policy of continuing neo-colonialism.”