Putin Says Western Rivals Are Trying to 'Regain Their Former Leadership' as Russia Pushes BRICS to Challe

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western powers of using increasingly aggressive tactics to protect their global influence as he called on BRICS countries to build a more independent economic platform.

Putin Accuses West of Protecting Its Global Leadership

Speaking at a BRICS business forum in New Delhi, Putin said Western countries were trying to reverse their declining influence by using economic and geopolitical pressure against competitors, Reuters reported.

"We have always been told that competition is a sacred cow, something that must not be touched," Putin said. "Yet, unfortunately, today your Western competitors are trying by any means necessary to regain their former leadership."

Putin argued that competition had increasingly moved beyond traditional economic rivalry, citing attacks on infrastructure and efforts to disrupt global trade routes.