New Delhi : In September 2023, India pulled off a feat at the G20 Summit that diplomats had written off as practically impossible – getting all members, including Russia and the West, to sign a consensus declaration at the height of the Ukraine war. ‘Fortress’ Bharat Mandapam will host leaders from 11 BRICS countries, including China’s Xi Jinping, who will be back in India after seven years, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The US President has viewed BRICS as a challenge to American economic and strategic interests. While Trump will not be at the table, he may still be the largest invisible elephant in the room. Amid turbulent India-US ties, New Delhi will have to walk a tightrope to ensure that BRICS initiatives do not irritate Trump. Three years ago, India navigated a diplomatic minefield to reach a consensus between the G7 countries and the Russia-China bloc on the Ukraine conflict.
The summit will bring Iran, UAE and Saudi Arabia – countries directly affected by the same war – under one roof.
Both UAE and Saudi Arabia have faced the brunt of Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the Gulf amid its conflict with the US. Just a week back, the UAE intercepted a barrage of Iranian drones fired towards an airbase, while fighting has intensified between Saudi Arabian forces and Iran-backed Houthis.
The BRICS Summit will bring Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, UAE’s Crown Prince, and Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister face to face. This puts India in an unusually delicate position. While Iran is expected to nudge the bloc to take a strong stand against the American military offensive, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are likely to seek a condemnation of Tehran’s strikes across the Gulf.
The difficulties were evident earlier this year. The BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in May concluded without a joint statement, largely due to differences between Iran and the UAE over the Middle East turmoil. According to a report in The Indian Express, India is working with Russia and Egypt in back-channel negotiations to bridge differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the UAE to salvage the joint declaration.
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