KAZAN, Russia — Isolated by the West for his war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin of Russia scored a diplomatic victory Tuesday when he welcomed the leaders of China, India and South Africa at the opening of a summit of emerging market countries bidding to rebalance a world order now dominated by the United States.

Putin, who cannot travel freely abroad because of a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court, was able to cast himself as a global statesman by rolling out the red carpet for the likes of China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

Meetings with foreign leaders have become rarer for Putin, and he sought to use the gathering to show he has powerful allies and influence in the world. The summit is perhaps the highest-profile international event in Russia since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Over three days, Putin will also host President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, the first NATO member to indicate interest in joining the group of countries, and the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

Ukraine has condemned Guterres’ planned meeting with Putin, which the Russian leader is expected to use to further reinforce his point that Russia is far from the global pariah the West has cast it as.

“For Russia to have 22 leaders and representatives of over 30 countries coming to Kazan 2 1/2 years into this war does not only show that Putin is not isolated internationally and the ICC warrant is of limited utility, but also that the war in Ukraine has become a new normal, something accepted as a feature of international reality,” said Hanna Notte of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California.

Known as BRICS — short for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the grouping expanded this year to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Together, the group represents almost half the world’s population and more than 35% of global economic output, adjusted by purchasing power.

Still, Putin has not been able to escape the shadow of the war in Ukraine.

“We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” Modi told Putin after giving him a warm hug. “We believe that disputes should only be resolved peacefully. We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability.”

Some countries, among them China, Russia and Iran, want to use BRICS to challenge the power of the United States, particularly its ability to wield economic sanctions. Others like India and Brazil are more interested in reforming global institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to better serve the developing world.

A key summit topic will be trying to build a global payments system similar to the global banking network SWIFT, from which Russia was excluded because of its invasion of Ukraine.