NEW DELHI, Oct 18, 2024 (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this month's BRICS summit in Russia, New Delhi said Friday, weeks after his friendly hug with President Vladimir Putin drew condemnation from Ukraine. India's foreign ministry said Modi would be in Russia on October 22 and 23 for the summit, held in the city of Kazan along the Volga river. The Ukraine war has forced India to look for other sources for arms instead of Russia, traditionally its biggest provider. The BRICS group takes its name from the initial letters of the five members who joined in 2009 -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Yury Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy aide, said this month that leaders of 24 countries would be attending the summit.
