Putin in Tehran for talks with leaders of Iran, Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Iran on a trip intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow's challenge to the United States and Europe during its grinding campaign in Ukraine. (July 19)

AP

On June 23, China virtually hosted the 14thBRICS Summit. The summit is an annual meeting wherethe leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africadiscuss topics such as trade and the economy.

Several social media users have shared a photo of Russan President Vladimir Putin purportedly being saluted at the 10th BRICS Summit in South Africa. The photo shows two uniformed mensaluting Putin as he enters a golden room.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin in South Africa when he was attending the 10th Session of BRICS," oneJuly 17 Facebook post says.

The post garnered over 2,900 likes in its first two weeks. Other viral iterations have been shared on Facebook and Twitter.

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But the claim is not correct. The photo was taken in Russia in 2020, two years after the 10th BRICS Summit.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared theclaim for comment.

Since ordering the invasion ofUkraine in February 2022, Putin hashad limited overseas travel. His first trip out of the country since the February invasion wasto Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The trips took place on June 28 and 29.

Putin attended the 14th annual BRICS Summit on June 23 via videoconference, according to the Kremlin's website.

Fact check: False claim that Trump, Putin had recent meeting in Washington, D.C.

Theclaim mentions the 10th BRICS Summit, which was held four years before the Ukrainian invasion, in 2018. While Putin did attend this conference in person, the photo was not taken at the 2018 summit.

The photo was taken by Getty Images photographerMikhail SvetlovinSt. Alexander Hall at the Grand Kremlin Palace on Feb. 5, 2020, in Moscow. Putinwas pictured entering the room withRussian Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov and attended a ceremony where he received 23 credentials from newly-appointed foreign ambassadors, according to the photo's description.

Photos from the Kremlin ceremony havebeen included in articlespublished byNewsweek and Forbes.

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a photo shows Vladimir Putin being saluted at the 10th BRICS Summit in South Africa. The photo was taken by a Getty Images photographer in Russia in 2020, two years after the 10th BRICS Summit was held in South Africa.

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Fact check: Photo of guards saluting Putin was taken in Russia in 2020 - USA TODAY