A summit of leaders from the BRICS group of major emerging economies kicks off in Brazil Sunday – but without the top leader of its most powerful member.

BRICS leaders are meeting in Brazil for a two-day summit. But China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin are skipping the gathering.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin were both missing from the BRICS summit that kicked off Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. According to Bloomberg, neither leader showed up,