India welcomes Putin and Pezeshkian amid war tensions

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New Delhi on Friday, September 11, ahead of the two-day 18th BRICS Summit beginning Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also due to attend, marking his first visit to India since 2019.

Growing global conflicts, instability in international trade, energy security and multilateral cooperation are expected to be among the main issues discussed at the summit.

Speaking at an event in Delhi before the summit, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, “The whole world is going through a complex period.”

Pezeshkian alleged that pressure on Iran had reached a critical and dangerous stage in recent months because of military aggression by the United States and Israel.

“BRICS was originally established as an alternative to unilateral hegemony, and member countries should play a more active role in establishing balance in the international system,” Pezeshkian said.

Pezeshkian also held a separate meeting with Modi in Delhi.

The US-Israel and Iran war in the Middle East, along with Russia’s continuing military operation in Ukraine, are expected to dominate discussions at the summit.

Modi welcomed Putin with an embrace on Friday. The visit is Putin’s second to Delhi since his last visit to India in December 2025. Russia has long been one of India’s most important strategic and defence partners.

Modi also posted a message in Sanskrit on social media while welcoming BRICS leaders. “Friendship and discussion should be held not with everyone, but only with virtuous and worthy people,” he wrote.

The message has been seen as an appeal for unity and cooperation ahead of the summit.

Xi Jinping’s attendance is expected to be among the most closely watched developments at the gathering. The visit will be his first to India in seven years, following an informal meeting in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, in 2019.

Relations between India and China deteriorated after the 2020 Galwan border clash, but ties have gradually begun to improve over the past year. Initiatives have been taken to restore air connectivity, visa services, high-level dialogue and economic cooperation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday, “China is ready to work with India by strengthening communication, increasing cooperation and properly resolving differences.”

Border disputes, a growing trade deficit and regional strategic rivalry, however, continue to complicate relations between the two countries.

Several exiled Tibetans protested in New Delhi on Friday against Xi’s visit. Protesters displayed placards denouncing China’s policies in Tibet.

BRICS, formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, has expanded into an 11-member grouping. Alongside South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia have joined in recent years.

Differences among members have also widened as the grouping has expanded. Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates hold sharply differing positions, particularly over the Middle East crisis.

Harsh V. Pant, an analyst at India’s Observer Research Foundation, told AFP: “The biggest dividing line at this BRICS summit will be the Gulf conflict. What was seen as the success of BRICS expansion last year has now become a major limitation for the grouping.”

Shilan Shah, an analyst at Capital Economics, also believes the Iran war will be a major test of internal unity within BRICS. Shah said BRICS members had been unable to agree on a joint statement even at the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers held in Delhi last May.

India has maintained historic ties with Iran while also retaining close strategic partnerships with Israel and the United States. New Delhi has also imported large quantities of energy from Russia since the Ukraine war began, despite Western sanctions.

Analysts say this multi-dimensional balancing act will be India’s biggest diplomatic challenge at the summit, where leaders who are at war, rivals or on opposing sides of the same regional crisis will sit at the same table.

Security has been tightened across the Indian capital, with large numbers of security personnel deployed around major roads, hotels and the Bharat Mandapam summit venue. New Delhi has been decorated with large portraits of Modi and BRICS banners as the international community awaits important decisions on the future of emerging economies.