"We are hoping for interaction between the two presidents in Kazan at the BRICS summit, if it happens," the Kremlin official said. "But we hope that there will be such an opportunity," he added, TASS reported.

Russia assumed the one-year rotating chairmanship of the BRICS intergovernmental group on January 1, 2024. On Moscow’s watch, BRICS will carry out over 250 events covering a wide range of issues.

The key event of Russia’s chairmanship will be the BRICS summit in October 2024 in Kazan, Tatarstan, in Russia’s Volga region.