Putin Arrives in New Delhi for BRICS Summit as Iran and Ukraine Wars Dominate

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday ahead of an 11-member BRICS summit set to be dominated by wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian due to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera framed the summit backdrop around the Iran war, noting that “The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit,” as Harsh V Pant of India’s Observer Research Foundation told AFP.A

Al Jazeera

Euronews said the two-day summit is expected to see the 11-member organisation focus on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as oil and global trade, while Modi wrote on Friday that “With the virtuous, one may debate and share friendship; with the unvirtuous, one should have no dealings whatsoever.”

The Guardian reported that Putin arrived at Palam air force Station in Delhi, where he was greeted by India’s minister of state for external affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, and said Pezeshkian’s first visit to India as Iranian president would put the Middle East conflict firmly on the agenda.

Reuters said the U.S.-led war on Iran splits BRICS membership, with Tehran and Abu Dhabi on opposing sides, and described the September 12-13 summit in New Delhi as coming after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, a BRICS member since 2024.R

Reuters quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the differences between the UAE and Iran had a “negative impact” and get in the way of “drafting” a joint declaration, while also saying the leaders would need language both Abu Dhabi and Tehran can accept.R

DiarioBitcoin

The Independent said Putin, Xi Jinping, Pezeshkian, Cyril Ramaphosa, and Prabowo Subianto are confirmed to attend the two-day summit on 12-13 August, and it described the Middle East conflict as high on the agenda.

The Guardian added that the failure of BRICS foreign ministers to agree on a joint statement when they met in Delhi in May meant the “war in Iran will provide a stern test of the [expanded] group’s cohesion,” according to Shilan Shah of Capital Economics.

Reuters reported that the conflict has led to a virtual shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz and pushed crude prices to over $100 a barrel, while also saying BRICS member UAE suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran in August.R

“pushing crude prices to over $100 a barrel”

Reuters

The Times of India said Delhi has been placed under a multilayered security grid for the summit, with around 15,000 Delhi Police personnel and 200 companies of paramilitary forces deployed, and with 500 CCTV cameras installed across key locations.

NDTV said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal urged BRICS member countries to link their payment systems and trade in local currencies, and it quoted him saying, “Today, it (UPI) is also accepted in 11 countries and I would urge the BRICS member countries and partner countries to link our payment systems.”

Looking ahead, Reuters said attention will also focus on potential bilateral meetings between Modi and Xi and scheduled talks between Modi and Putin, while also noting that a joint declaration was unlikely to influence the current geopolitical landscape but would demonstrate unity against “economically debilitating policies like Western sanctions.”R