BRICS summit 2026: What are the key takeaways?
The 11-nation bloc avoids condemning the US-Israel war on Iran, showing the divisions among the members.
Leaders of the BRICS group of nations unanimously adopted a joint declaration on the first day of the two-day summit in the Indian capital, New Delhi, despite divisions among members over the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
The New Delhi Declaration, adopted on Saturday, called for restraint in the Middle East but avoided condemning the US-Israeli strikes or Iran’s targeting of Gulf countries in the region. It also criticised the global trade war without naming the United States.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, were among the leaders attending the gathering of the 11-member bloc in New Delhi at a time of global upheaval caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, Trump’s tariff war and the US’s unilateral decisions to promote its foreign policy.
Donthi added that India used its strong ties with all members and worked behind the scenes to release the declaration, overcoming the biggest hurdle: convincing the UAE and Iran, who are on opposite sides of the ongoing conflict.