Putin arrives in India for BRICS summit colored by wars

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Indian capital on Friday ahead of an 11-member BRICS summit set to be dominated by wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as economic challenges.

He landed at Palam Air Force Station in New Delhi, where India's Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh greeted him.

Who is attending the BRICS summit in India?

Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are due to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the two-day summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is also expected to meet Modi on the sidelines, according to Indian diplomatic sources. Putin's arrival was captured in footage broadcast by Russia's Ria Novosti news agency.

Why is Xi Jinping's visit to India significant?

For Xi, this marks his first visit to India since 2019 and the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw between the rival neighbours. The visit comes six years after a deadly military clash along their disputed Himalayan border. Flights, visas and high-level contacts between the two nuclear-armed Asian giants have gradually been restored in recent months, though their contested frontier, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry continue to complicate ties.

Posters of a beaming Modi line the streets of New Delhi to welcome the visiting leaders. Heavy security deployments and widespread traffic restrictions are in place across central districts, and Delhi police have urged residents to remain patient and cooperative.

Why is the BRICS summit being overshadowed by war?

BRICS was created in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers. It has since expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, three countries with sharply differing positions on the war launched by the United States and Israel in February.

"The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit," said Harsh V. Pant of India's Observer Research Foundation. "What was seen until last year as an achievement, the expansion of BRICS, today looks like a big constraint on BRICS," he said.

This is Pezeshkian's first visit to India as Iranian president, and it puts the Middle East conflict firmly on the summit agenda. "The war in Iran will provide a stern test of the (expanded) group's cohesion," said Shilan Shah of Capital Economics, pointing to the BRICS foreign ministers' failure to agree on a joint statement when they met in New Delhi in May.

How is India balancing ties with Russia, Iran and the West?

India maintains cordial relations with both Iran and Israel, while also carefully balancing its ties with Washington. It has navigated the energy crisis caused by the Iran war partly by turning to Russia, one of its most important strategic partners and its most controversial fuel supplier as the war in Ukraine continues.

Putin last visited India in December 2025 but also met Modi this month in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Kyiv this month as well, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "grateful to India for its commitment to ending this unjust war."