KAZAN, (Russia): Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday against “illusory” attempts to defeat Russia on the battlefield ahead of his first meeting with UN chief Antonio Guterres in more than two years for talks set to focus on the conflict in Ukraine.

Putin was speaking in the Russian city of Kazan on the final day of the BRICS summit, a forum Moscow hopes will help forge a united front of emerging economies against the West.

Russia’s opponents “do not conceal their aim to deal our country a strategic defeat”, Putin said.

“I will say directly that these are illusory calculations, that can be made only by those who do not know Russia’s history.”

Shortly before he spoke, Russia’s lower house of parliament voted to ratify a defence pact with North Korea amid reports that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia for training and possible deployment in Ukraine.

At the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned about “serious challenges” in the world and said he hoped BRICS countries could be a “stabilising force for peace”.

“We need to continue to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, relaunch the two-state solution and stop the spread of war in Lebanon. There should be no more suffering and destruction in Palestine and Lebanon,” Xi said.