Last week’s BRICS summit showed how the balance of global power increasingly eludes the West’s grasp.

At a meeting of emerging economies, Vladimir Putin positioned himself as a respected and powerful leader, ignoring the condemnation he receives from the West.

A meeting between the two leaders comes just two days after they settled a tense border dispute in the Himalayas. But experts said their long-term geopolitical rivalry would persist.

The Russian leader wants to cast himself as a global statesman, even as the U.S. and its Western allies try to isolate him.

Four years ago, several soldiers from both sides were killed in a bloody melee. Any thaw between the countries could have global implications.

The Russian leader hopes to use the meeting of the so-called BRICS group, which includes China and India, as a counterweight to the West.