Putin's Diplomacy Blitz Strategically Targeting The Global South

The ongoing sanctions war between Russia and the West has made its economic and trade relations with the Global South pivotal for the country's survival and future development.

Two friendly interstate bodies, in which Russia plays core roles, are becoming especially important. The first is BRICS, a group of 11 economies including Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

The BRICS economies now account for about 40% of global GDP. Last year, mutual trade turnover between BRICS member states exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time.

The second is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This is a political and security bloc spanning countries in Europe, Asia and the Indo-Pacific. According to Putin, Russia's trade turnover with the SCO exceeded US$400 billion in 2025.

Overall, Asia accounted for 73.4% of Russia's trade turnover last year. It's no surprise that Moscow's trade links with Asia featured in almost every conversation in Bishkek, Vladivostok and New Delhi.

Despite its friendly ties with Iran, Russia and its clients aren't immune from the ongoing disruption to transport and trade routes through the Middle East. To mitigate these risks, Russia is actively lobbying two relatively new transcontinental transit networks.

The first is the 7,200-kilometer combined rail-road-maritime International North-South Transport Corridor. This route connects Russia's Baltic Sea ports with Mumbai in India, via the Caspian Sea and Iran.

Russia reportedly discussed this route with the Indian and Iranian delegations he met with this month.

The second is the 5,600-kilometer maritime Northern Sea Route, which connects Asia's ice-free ports with Russia's Arctic ports as part of the Northeast maritime passage across the Arctic Ocean.

In August, Beijing launched commercial operations along this route for the first time.

Russia walked away from this month's diplomatic blitz with some clear wins. In addition to securing US$7.7 billion worth of investments in Vladivostok, along with some lucrative deals with Vietnam, Putin could also claim some political success.

First, although challenging at times, Putin's interactions with his counterparts showcased how Moscow's relationship with major non-Western international players remains a geopolitical constant, even in the fifth year of the Ukraine war.

For leaders of emerging centres of global influence, whether India's Modi, Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto or Vietnam's To Lam, interacting with Russia forms part of their countries' foreign policy approach based on the notion of“strategic autonomy.”

This sends a powerful signal to the United States and its allies, amid the latest round of high-level consultations involving the CIA and US Treasury chiefs and their Russian counterparts.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump sent his own personal envoys to Moscow and made a follow-up phone call to Putin.