Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Delhi to attend two-day BRICS summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Delhi to attend the two-day BRICS summit—an event expected to place the Iranian war, the Ukraine crisis, and disagreements among member states over developments in the Middle East at the center of its discussions.

Agence France-Presse reported that leaders from several member countries, including Russia, China, Iran and India, are attending the summit. Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic, are expected to meet with Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. Xi Jinping, President of China, will also be present at the summit.

Analysts consider the Iranian war a test of BRICS cohesion, particularly given the membership of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and their different positions regarding the war.

India is also simultaneously trying to maintain its ties with Tehran, Israel and Washington, and to manage the energy-crisis fallout, it has relied on imports from Russia.

Xi’s presence in Delhi is also his first trip to India since 2019 and is seen as a sign of a cautious easing of tensions between the two countries, although border and trade differences still