The unexpected presence of the UN Secretary-General at the BRICS summit has sparked controversy from the start. These concerns certainly weren't quelled by the photos and recordings that surfaced online on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has presided at the closing session of a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, hailing its role as a counterbalance to the West.

This is almost certainly why António Guterres decided to attend. Indeed, a statement by the UN today defended his actions saying that BRICS now represents “half the world’s population”, and that attending large international meetings is “standard practice”.