🔻Delhi summit is a test for BRICS unity

✍Free report by Azadeh Moshiri, a South Asia correspondent for BBC from Delhi

World leaders, including Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, Xi Jinping, President of China, and Masoud Pezeshkian, President of Iran, have gathered in Delhi to attend the “BRICS” summit.

The group was formed with the aim of creating a counterweight against the United States and Western Europe, but wars in the Middle East have revealed fissures within it.

The summit is an opportunity for BRICS to solidify its position as a political and economic force against the West, but it is also a major test of its unity. Global disputes have highlighted deep divisions; for example, the United Arab Emirates has this year been the target of several drone and missile attacks attributed to Iran.

BRICS meetings over the past six months have not resulted, according to reports, in a joint statement, due to severe differences of opinion over the issue of Iran and the way references are made to disputes related to Israel.

Another issue is Donald Trump; his threats regarding commercial tariffs make the importance of unity among BRICS members all the more significant, but confronting him could also entail heavy costs.

The White House has described some BRICS proposals as “anti-American,” and many countries will be cautious not to provoke the president of the United States.