Vladimir Putin has arrived in India for talks ahead of an 11-member BRICS summit, which is set to focus on economic challenges, conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, and global trade turbulence. The summit will also feature leaders from China, Iran, and other Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who are expected to discuss their differing positions on the war launched by the US and Israel in February. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to arrive on Friday and hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking his first visit to India as president. Experts expect the gulf conflict to be a central issue at the summit, which has expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE despite their differing positions on the war.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi, welcoming leaders from China and Russia among others. The summit marks a significant moment for India as it seeks to strengthen ties with both traditional allies like the US and new partners such as China, despite ongoing tensions over issues like trade and the border dispute. With BRICS expanding to 11 members, including Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and Egypt, internal divisions are becoming more pronounced. Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his first visit to India since 2019, called for mutual learning and cooperation between China and India during bilateral talks on the summit's sidelines. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal urged BRICS nations to link payment systems and trade in local currencies to reduce dependence on dominant global financial powers. As BRICS members discuss economic and geopolitical strategies, they face challenges of aligning diverse interests while attempting to establish a counterbalance to American-led global order.
Written for “BRICS Summit India” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 16 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score -0.35 for article 7705 (medium confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-11
In short:
Valadimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are gathering in India for the 2026 BRICS summit set to put war and trade at the fore.
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Putin → gather → fore
The summit was created as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in Western-dominated institutions.
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summit → create → institutions
Experts expect the gulf conflict will be the central fault line in coming days, with Iran, Saudi Arabia and The UAE set to attend.
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Iran → expect → days
Vladimir Putin has arrived in India for talks ahead of an 11-member BRICS summit dominated by economic challenges and conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, with the leaders of China and Iran set to attend.
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leaders → arrive → China
War, global trade turbulence and oil are expected on the agenda at the two-day annual summit which opens on Saturday, when Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive.
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Jinping → expect → Saturday
It will be Mr Xi's first visit to India since 2019, marking the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw between the rival neighbours.
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It → mark → neighbours
The visit comes six years after a deadly military clash between China and India along their disputed Himalayan border.
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visit → come → border
Ties between both nuclear-armed China and India have warmed in recent months, with flights, visas and high-level contacts gradually being restored.
But deep mistrust remains within their contested frontier, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry still complicating the relationship.
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deficit → arm → relationship
"One should engage in debate and friendship only with the virtuous, and nothing whatsoever with the unvirtuous," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on social media on Friday, welcome arriving leaders.
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Modi → engage → leaders
Mr Modi is due to hold talks later on Friday with Mr Putin, who last visited India in December 2025.
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who → hold → December
India has navigated the energy crisis caused by the Iran war in part by turning to Russia, one of its most important relationships and most controversial fuel supplier in recent years, as the war in Ukraine drags on.
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war → navigate → Ukraine
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also expected on Friday, and is also set to hold talks with Mr Modi.
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Pezeshkian → expect → Modi
The BRICS summit was created in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions typically dominated by Western powers.
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summit → create → 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.
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It → expand → February
"The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit," said Harsh V Pant, a professor of international relations and vice president of India's Observer Research Foundation.
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Pant → go → Foundation
"What was seen until last year as an achievement, the expansion of BRICS, today looks like a big constraint on BRICS."
It will be Mr Pezeshkian's first visit to India as Iranian president, and will put the Middle East conflict firmly in conversations.
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It → see → conversations
Econimist Shilan Shah said the war in Iran would provide a stern test of the expanded group's cohesion.
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war → say → cohesion
Mr Shah noted the failure of the BRICS foreign ministers to agree on a joint statement when they met in New Delhi in May.
uncertain
they → note → May
United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi are all expected to be in attendance.
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Nahyan → expect → attendance
India maintains cordial relations with Iran and Israel, but is also careful to strike a delicate balance in its ties with Washington.
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India → maintain → Washington
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Kyiv this month when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "grateful to India for its commitment to ending this unjust war".
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he → visit → war
