Putin Lands in Delhi; BRICS Faces Two Wars
Putin Lands in Delhi; BRICS Faces Two Wars
The News
Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Delhi on Friday for the 18th BRICS summit, his first in-person appearance at a BRICS meeting outside Russia since he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
He arrived at the Palam air force station at dawn and was received by Indian junior minister Kirti Vardhan Singh, according to footage broadcast by Russia's RIA Novosti and a post by Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto are also confirmed for the two-day summit at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam on September 12 and 13, where the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are expected to test the bloc's unity.
Timeline
Putin launches the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is the last time before this week that he attends a BRICS summit held outside Russia.
Iran joins BRICS, part of an expansion that also brought in Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Indonesia alongside founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The US and Israel launch attacks on Iran. The conflict has led to a virtual shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's key oil chokepoints, pushing crude above $100 a barrel.
The BRICS foreign ministers' summit ends without a joint statement because of differences between Iran and the UAE, issuing only a chair statement.
The UAE, hit by Iranian missiles since the war began, suspends all trade and financial transactions with Iran.
Putin arrives in Delhi and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the afternoon on defense, energy, trade, investment, technology and payment mechanisms. Modi meets Pezeshkian in the evening.
The summit opens; Xi is expected to hold talks with Modi on the sidelines.
Reactions
"Warmly welcome President Vladimir Putin of Russia for the 18th BRICS Summit," Jaiswal wrote on X, calling India and Russia's ties a "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership."
Harsh V Pant of India's Observer Research Foundation said the Gulf conflict would remain the "central fault line this time during the BRICS summit," adding that the "trust deficit" between member countries is high. He said China "has economic heft and there is a good opportunity to use that and emerge as a reliable partner, especially when both nations are impacted by America's trade policies."
Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal used the BRICS Business Forum to push members away from the dollar system, urging them to "link our payment systems, trade in each other's local currencies, make digital trade global," as reported by the Deccan Herald. He pointed to India's Unified Payments Interface, which he said is accepted in 11 countries.
Al Jazeera reported that some analysts argue BRICS does not need to replace the West to succeed — only to make Western dominance harder to exercise.
What's Next
The summit runs Saturday and Sunday. The test of success, foreign policy analysts say, is whether the members can agree on language about the Middle East that both Abu Dhabi and Tehran can accept, clearing the way for a joint declaration — the thing the bloc failed to produce in May.
Xi's trip is his first visit to India since 2019 and his first since the 2020 Galwan clash, when Indian and Chinese troops faced off on the disputed Himalayan border. He and Modi are expected to review efforts to stabilize relations and deepen economic ties.
Why Americans Should Care
Three of the leaders in Delhi — Putin, Xi and Pezeshkian — head governments at odds with Washington, and the agenda includes sanctions, oil and a push to trade outside the dollar. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut and crude above $100 a barrel, what this bloc does about the Iran war lands at American gas pumps.
More
BRICS now accounts for roughly a quarter of the world's nominal gross domestic product and about half its population, bringing together some of the biggest energy producers and consumers on earth. Its expansion has also imported the disputes of its new members: Iran, the UAE, Egypt and Ethiopia do not agree on much.
Delhi is locked down for the occasion. Thousands of security personnel are deployed, hundreds of additional CCTV cameras have been installed, traffic is being diverted across central districts, luxury hotels in south and central Delhi have been reserved for delegations, and all schools in the capital — government and private — were closed Friday. Posters of Modi line the motorcade routes.
Poll
Does the BRICS summit in Delhi matter to the United States?
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