Putin seeks BRICS grain trade, insurance to fight curbs
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday (Sep 13, 2026) proposed a new insurance mechanism and collaborative grain market among the BRICS nations, urging the group to adopt a holistic approach to combat global challenges.
Mr Putin proposed new initiatives for economic growth among BRICS members as well as countries in the Global South amid crippling sanctions imposed by Western powers on Moscow over its war with Ukraine.
The G-7 countries, the European Union and the United Kingdom banned Western companies from insuring any ship carrying Russian oil unless the oil was purchased at or below a set price ceiling. Sanctions against the insurance sector adversely affected Russian oil exports.
The Russian president proposed the creation of a specialized platform for economic growth with the BRICS.
“We have independent routes for the movement of capital, labor and technology. In fact, we can operate regardless of external pressure,” Putin said at the closing session of the BRICS summit.
“We have several promising initiatives ahead, such as the creation of an insurance mechanism and a grain market. These are Russian proposals and we call on all other member states to take advantage of them,” he said without elaborating.
Putin praised the New Development Bank (NDB), saying it was handling $140 billion worth of projects. The NDB is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS countries.
“As global challenges continue to emerge, we should adopt a holistic approach to address both symptoms and root causes,” he said.
“Global South countries should jointly promote a better (global) governance structure and deal with both traditional and non-traditional security threats,” he said.
The Russian president said BRICS’ global standing is growing as it focuses on charting an independent course to combat pressing global challenges.
“The wide participation in today’s meeting confirms that international interest in the BRICS continues to grow. Many people around the world find our core values and ideals appealing, including our determination to chart an independent course and desire to solve problems collectively, following international law and key provisions of the UN Charter,” Putin said.
The final session of the BRICS summit was attended by the bloc’s full member countries and partner countries. “This format opens the door to a direct, frank dialogue between full BRICS members and partner countries, as well as other states and multilateral organizations interested in cooperating with our group,” Putin said.
Putin emphasized the importance of greater economic cooperation within BRICS, saying a common platform for better trade and investment ties would be beneficial for all member countries.
“We have great new horizons for investment, cooperation and partnership between markets. We are talking about creating a common platform for growth within BRICS that would combine the competitive advantages of all members of the group,” he said.
“This platform must be built on the principles of openness and accessibility not only to BRICS partners, but to all our friends,” he said.
Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, BRICS expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in 2024, and Indonesia joined in 2025.
Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year.
BRICS has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 of the world’s major emerging economies, representing approximately 49.5% of the global population, approximately 40% of global GDP, and approximately 26% of global trade.
Published – 13 Sep 2026 21:53 IST