Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday for a two-day BRICS summit, bringing Russia’s trade, energy and defence ties with India into focus while the grouping struggles to find common ground on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Putin landed at Palam Air Force Station in New Delhi, where he was greeted by India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. He is accompanied by a delegation of more than 300 Russian executives, underlining the commercial agenda alongside the summit’s geopolitical discussions.
The meeting brings together a bloc created in 2009 by major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers. Its original members are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. BRICS has since expanded to include Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Expansion has widened the group’s reach while making agreement harder. The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has placed Tehran and Abu Dhabi on opposing sides, creating what Harsh V. Pant of India’s Observer Research Foundation described as the summit’s principal divide.
“The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit,” Pant said. He added: “What was seen until last year as an achievement– the expansion of BRICS– today looks like a big constraint on BRICS”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said differences between the UAE and Iran had had a “negative impact” on the organisation and were obstructing efforts to draft a joint declaration. The outcome of those efforts remains unclear.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned that Iran is under “critical, dangerous” US economic pressure. The disputes surrounding Iran, together with the continuing Ukraine-Russia conflict, could test the group’s unity during the summit.
Putin met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day before the summit began. Their talks covered the Ukraine-Russia conflict, energy cooperation and trade in several sectors. Modi urged Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
The two leaders discussed a plan to expand Russian-Indian trade to $100 billion by 2030. The areas identified for further work include rail transit, steel production, critical minerals, fertilizers and nuclear energy.
Defence cooperation is also under discussion. The possible sale to India of Russian Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter jets is on the agenda, though it is unknown whether a deal will be finalised during the visit.
Modi had raised the war in Ukraine with Putin at their previous meeting, held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan earlier this month. Modi told Putin then that the war needed to end for humanity’s sake and said he would support any effort to stop it.
China’s Xi Jinping is also attending the New Delhi meeting, in his first visit to India since 2019. The visit represents the largest step so far in a cautious thaw between China and India, six years after a deadly military clash along their disputed Himalayan border. It remains unknown whether Xi and Modi will reach any agreement on border issues or wider bilateral cooperation.
The summit programme includes a business forum, a main plenary session and expanded sessions with partner states. Its declared focus is expected to include the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as economic challenges. Whether the enlarged grouping can turn those discussions into a common statement will be a central measure of its ability to act collectively.
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