Seeking to Elude Sanctions, Putin and Xi Promise ‘A Just World Order’

Isolated by the West for his war in Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia scored a diplomatic victory on 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.

Mr. 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.