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Modi, Putin, Xi share stage at 18th BRICS Summit in Delhi

Leaders from 11 countries attended the 18th BRICS Summit, held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 under India's chairship. Images from Bharat Mandapam showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited India after seven years. It was the three leaders' second meeting this year, after August's SCO Summit. Modi and Putin discussed defence, energy and space, and Modi gifted Putin a Russian translation of the Thirukkural.

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published

Source

Hindustan Times — India · read the original report ↗

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Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)
  • The 18th BRICS Summit was hosted by India in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, with 11 countries participating, under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. — Stated directly in the source with dates and theme; no external attribution given.
  • Modi held a bilateral meeting with Putin covering defence, energy, space, skill mobility, West Asia and the Black Sea, and gifted him a Russian translation of the Thirukkural. — Detailed in the source; consistent with images credited to PMO, but no official statement is quoted.
  • Xi Jinping visited India after seven years, and the Modi-Xi-Putin meeting was their second this year after the SCO Summit in August. — Figure and sequence appear in the source; the SCO meeting location is referred to as Bishkek without further sourcing.
  • Trump wrote: 'Looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together.' — Direct quote attributed to a post by US President Donald Trump; platform and date not specified.
  • Critics linked India's closeness to Moscow and Beijing to 50% tariffs imposed on New Delhi. — Attributed vaguely to 'his critics'; unnamed sourcing.

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI రాజకీయ విశ్లేషకులు · తెలుగు

బ్రిక్స్ ఆతిథ్యాన్ని మోదీ ప్రభుత్వం కేవలం దౌత్య కార్యక్రమంగా కాకుండా, ఒక రాజకీయ ప్రదర్శనగా మలచుకుంది — పుతిన్, షీ, పెజెష్కియాన్‌లతో కలిసి నడిచే దృశ్యాలు, 50% సుంకాల తర్వాత భారత్ ఒంటరిగా లేదని, దాని వద్ద ప్రత్యామ్నాయ ఎంపికలు ఉన్నాయని వాషింగ్టన్‌కు పంపిన సంకేతం. ఏడేళ్ల తర్వాత షీ ఢిల్లీకి రావడం, గల్వాన్ తర్వాత చైనాతో సాధారణీకరణను ప్రభుత్వం రాజకీయంగా భరించగలదని భావిస్తున్నదనే సూచన. అయితే ఇదే దృశ్యాలు దేశీయంగా రెండంచుల కత్తి — "చైనాతో సాన్నిహిత్యం" ప్రతిపక్షాలకు సరిహద్దు ప్రశ్నను తిరిగి లేవనెత్తే అవకాశం ఇస్తుంది.

  • ఆతిథ్య దేశంగా అధ్యక్ష స్థానం మోదీకి 'గ్లోబల్ సౌత్ నాయకుడు' అనే ఇమేజ్‌ను బలపరిచే వేదికను ఇచ్చింది — ఇది బీజేపీ దౌత్య విజయ కథనానికి నేరుగా ఉపయోగపడుతుంది.
  • ట్రంప్ సుంకాల నేపథ్యంలో ఈ చిత్రాలు 'ఒత్తిడికి తలొగ్గలేదు' అనే సందేశంగా ప్రభుత్వం ఉపయోగించుకోగలదు; అమెరికాతో బేరసారాల్లో ఇది ఒక పరపతి కార్డు.
  • షీ పర్యటనను ప్రభుత్వం సాధారణీకరణ దిశగా చూపిస్తే, ప్రతిపక్షాలు సరిహద్దు యథాతథ స్థితిపై స్పష్టత కోరే అవకాశం ఉంది — గల్వాన్ అంశం దేశీయ రాజకీయాల్లో ఇంకా సజీవమే.
  • ఇరాన్ అధ్యక్షుడితో కలిసి కనిపించడం భారత్ 'బహుముఖ దౌత్యం' వైఖరిని చాటుతుంది, కానీ పాశ్చాత్య రాజధానుల్లో అపార్థానికి ఆస్కారం ఇచ్చే ప్రమాదమూ ఉంది.
  • ఇరాన్, సౌదీ, యూఏఈ వంటి పరస్పర విరుద్ధ ప్రయోజనాల దేశాలు ఒకే వేదికపై ఉండటం — బ్రిక్స్ ఐక్యత ప్రతీకాత్మకమే కావచ్చు, విధాన స్థాయిలో పరిమితం.

What to watch — సదస్సు తర్వాత భారత్-అమెరికా వాణిజ్య చర్చల స్వరం, మరియు చైనాతో సాన్నిహిత్యంపై ప్రతిపక్షాలు, ప్రభుత్వ మిత్రపక్షాలు ఎలా స్పందిస్తాయో గమనించాలి.

ఈ కథనం చిత్రాలు, భేటీల అంశాలను మాత్రమే చెబుతుంది — సరిహద్దు వివాదంలో ఏదైనా పురోగతి, రక్షణ-ఇంధన ఒప్పందాల వివరాలు, లేదా అమెరికా సుంకాలపై ప్రభావం గురించి ఇది ఏమీ నిర్ధారించలేదు.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 5 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

India hosted the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, under its 2026 chairship, with leaders from 11 countries attending at Bharat Mandapam. The optics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping appearing together were read as a signal of unity among emerging economies vis-a-vis the West. Xi's visit was his first to India in seven years, coming as Delhi and Beijing attempt to repair ties strained since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. It was the third meeting of a grouping that, per the source, has consolidated as a bloc seeking to counter Western dominance in global politics.

Key facts

  • The 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, under India's 2026 chairship, and concluded on Sunday.
  • Leaders from 11 countries converged in Delhi for the summit at Bharat Mandapam.
  • The summit theme was 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability', as BRICS enters its third decade.
  • Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India after 7 years amid ongoing efforts to mend ties over border disputes.
  • The Modi-Xi-Putin encounter was their second this year, after meeting on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in August.
  • Modi and Putin held a bilateral meeting covering political and economic cooperation, defence and energy, space, skill mobility and people-to-people ties.
  • Modi gifted Putin a Russian translation of the Thirukkural as a symbol of cultural and people-to-people ties.
  • US President Donald Trump reacted to the earlier three-way meeting: 'Looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China.' Critics linked India's tilt to 50% tariffs imposed on New Delhi.

Timeline

  1. 2020Indian and Chinese soldiers clash in Galwan Valley, intensifying border tensions; military and diplomatic talks follow.
  2. August (2026)Modi, Putin and Xi meet on the sidelines of the SCO Summit; the source refers to their 'Bishkek catchup', which drew a critical post from Donald Trump.
  3. September 11, 2026Video posted of Modi meeting Putin ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
  4. September 12, 202618th BRICS Summit opens at Bharat Mandapam; Modi, Putin and Xi share the stage; Modi-Putin bilateral held, with the two travelling together by car.
  5. September 13, 2026 (Sunday)Summit concludes; Modi meets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and interacts with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

Who has a stake

  • India (PM Narendra Modi) — As 2026 BRICS chair, must build consensus among members with competing interests while balancing ties with the US, Russia, China and Iran.
  • Russia (President Vladimir Putin) — Deepening defence, energy, space and skill mobility cooperation with India; discussed West Asia and the Black Sea with Modi.
  • China (President Xi Jinping) — First India visit in seven years; normalisation of ties strained by border disputes since the Galwan clash.
  • United States (President Donald Trump) — Sees India-Russia-China convergence as a loss of influence; 50% tariffs on India cited by critics as pushing Delhi towards Moscow and Beijing.
  • Iran (President Masoud Pezeshkian) — Sought Indian engagement amid a war with the US of six months' standing; discussed West Asia conflict and the Global South's rising influence.
  • BRICS members with competing regional interests (Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE) — Their rivalries make consensus-building within the expanded bloc particularly challenging.

Why it matters

The joint appearance of the Indian, Russian and Chinese leaders in Delhi projects BRICS as a functioning counterweight to Western dominance even as its members carry unresolved disputes among themselves. For India, chairing the summit while hosting Putin, Xi and Iran's president tests its strategic autonomy at a time when it faces 50% US tariffs and criticism from Washington. The optics also mark a possible turn in India-China relations after the 2020 Galwan clash.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

  • 18th BRICS Summit: New Delhi, September 12-13, 2026; India held the 2026 chairship; venue Bharat Mandapam.
  • Summit theme: 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'; leaders from 11 countries attended.
  • Xi Jinping's visit was his first to India in seven years; Modi-Xi-Putin had earlier met at the SCO Summit in August.
  • Modi gifted Putin a Russian translation of the Thirukkural.
  • Galwan Valley clash of 2020 intensified India-China border tensions.
  • Other leaders named: Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian and Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto.

Mains framing

The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi illustrates both the promise and the limits of plurilateral groupings of emerging economies. The immediate trigger for the summit's political salience was the visible convergence of India, Russia and China, occurring against the backdrop of 50% US tariffs on India, Donald Trump's public remark that Washington had 'lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China', and a six-month-old US-Iran war in which India has pressed for dialogue while maintaining ties with both sides. Structurally, BRICS has evolved into a platform for coordination on finance, trade, technology, development and global governance, and has consolidated as a bloc seeking to counter Western dominance. Yet its enlargement brings in members with competing regional interests — Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were all present — making consensus-building difficult, while India and China still carry an unsettled boundary question that intensified after the 2020 Galwan clash and has since been managed through sustained military and diplomatic talks. The way forward, as the source suggests, lies in India using its chairship to convert symbolism into deliverables under the resilience-innovation-cooperation-sustainability theme, deepening functional cooperation with Russia in defence, energy, space and skill mobility, and continuing incremental normalisation with China without conceding on the border, all while preserving strategic autonomy in its relations with the West.

Key terms

BRICS
Grouping of emerging economies coordinating on finance, trade, technology, development and global governance; now entering its third decade with an expanded membership.
SCO Summit
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit held in August, on whose sidelines Modi, Putin and Xi met before the Delhi BRICS meeting.
Bharat Mandapam
The New Delhi convention venue that hosted the 18th BRICS Summit and its related leader-level engagements.
Galwan Valley clash (2020)
Clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers that sharply intensified border tensions, followed by repeated military and diplomatic talks.
Thirukkural
Classical Tamil text; Modi gifted Putin its Russian translation as a symbol of cultural and people-to-people ties.
Global South
Term for developing and emerging nations whose rising influence Modi and Iran's Pezeshkian discussed in their bilateral meeting.

Practice questions

  1. Examine how India's chairship of the 18th BRICS Summit reflects its pursuit of strategic autonomy amid pressures from the West.
  2. BRICS has expanded to include members with competing regional interests. Discuss the challenges this poses for consensus-building within the grouping.
  3. Assess the significance of Xi Jinping's first visit to India in seven years for the trajectory of India-China relations after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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