Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s commitment to peaceful conflict resolution during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS Summit today. The leaders embraced each other as they discussed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, underscoring India’s stance on diplomatic solutions.
The BRICS summit, featuring an informal coalition of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is currently taking place in Kazan, Russia.
PM Modi praised the BRICS grouping for its success, highlighting the growing interest from numerous nations seeking to join.
“We have been in touch with all sides in the Russia-Ukraine problem. It has always been our position that all conflict can be solved with dialogue. We believe there should be peaceful solutions to conflicts. India is always ready to help bring peace,” PM Modi said.
There will be a ‘Kazan Declaration’ at the end of the summit, when five new BRICS members will be formally added.
This BRICS Summit marks Prime Minister Modi’s second visit to Russia this year. He previously visited Moscow in July for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit, where he held a bilateral meeting with President Putin. During that trip, he was also awarded Russia’s highest civilian honor, the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, at the Kremlin.
India and Russia share a ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’.
“Russian-Indian relations have the character of a particularly privileged strategic partnership and continue to actively develop,” Mr Putin told PM Modi.
India continues to be a major purchaser of Russian oil, a situation that has drawn criticism from Western nations. The US and its allies have been supporting Ukraine and aiming to impose economic pressures on Russia. In response, India has maintained that it will source oil from wherever it can secure the best deals, prioritizing the benefits for its citizens.
Russia has hailed the BRICS Summit as a diplomatic success, claiming it demonstrates the failure of Western efforts to isolate Moscow amid the Ukraine conflict.
The US has rejected the notion that BRICS could emerge as a “geopolitical rival,” but it has voiced concerns about Moscow asserting its diplomatic influence amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Moscow has made significant gains on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine this year, while also deepening its relationships with China, Iran, and North Korea—three nations that are seen as adversaries by Washington. By hosting BRICS leaders in Kazan, the Kremlin aims to demonstrate that Russia is not isolated, but rather has partners and allies, according to political analyst Konstantin Kalachev.
This time, the Kremlin aims to present an “alternative to Western pressure and demonstrate that a multipolar world is a reality,” Mr. Kalachev stated, highlighting Moscow’s efforts to redistribute power away from Western nations.
