Putin arrives in India as BRICS summit tests group’s cohesion
The two-day meeting is expected to address the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, economic pressures and tensions within the expanded bloc.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday ahead of an 11-member BRICS summit, with the meeting expected to focus on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, economic challenges and the group’s cohesion.
Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were due to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Chinese President Xi Jinping was expected to hold talks with Modi. The source material does not confirm that those meetings took place.
Putin’s arrival at Palam Air Force Station was shown in footage broadcast by Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency. New Delhi imposed heavy security and widespread traffic restrictions ahead of the summit.
The summit will bring together countries with differing positions on the Middle East conflict. Analysts cited by France 24 said the issue could test BRICS cohesion, after the bloc’s foreign ministers reportedly failed to agree on a joint statement at a meeting in New Delhi in May.
Xi’s expected visit would be his first to India since 2019, following a deadly 2020 clash along the countries’ disputed Himalayan border. Although flights, visas and high-level contacts have gradually resumed, mistrust remains over the frontier, trade and wider strategic rivalry.
India has maintained relations with Iran, Israel, Russia and the United States, while relying partly on Russian energy supplies. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Kyiv this month, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to express gratitude for India’s commitment to ending the war.
