BRICS Signs New Delhi Declaration Despite Sharp Internal Rifts — SkimNews
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- BRICS concluded its 18th summit in New Delhi with a declaration signed by all 10 members despite foreign ministers' earlier failure to agree on a joint statement amid Iran-UAE missile exchanges.
- Middle East language was sharply watered down: last year's Rio text condemned strikes against Iran since June 13, 2025, while New Delhi only expressed "deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia."
- Ukraine references were entirely dropped from the declaration—the first omission since Russia's 2022 invasion, breaking a pattern that had even included Russian-aligned language on Ukrainian attacks in prior texts.
- Cuba received a new paragraph expressing "deep concern" over "tightening of unilateral blockade measures" after being admitted as a BRICS partner country, with U.S. pressure on Havana having grown "manifold" since last year.
- Israel was named and criticized for actions in Lebanon, while strong Gaza language was maintained and concern expressed over arrangements "that may prejudice the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people."
- The declaration sharply criticized "unilateral coercive measures" and "secondary sanctions" as undermining international law—a clear dig at the United States that reflects widespread Global South vulnerability to U.S.-led sanctions regimes.
- The U.S.-initiated "Board of Peace" went unmentioned in the text, despite BRICS members Egypt, Indonesia, and the UAE sitting on it alongside partner countries Kazakhstan and Vietnam.
Why it matters: The BRICS declaration is largely performative unity—everyone signed, yet on the Iran-UAE war the language was gutted and Ukraine was dropped entirely for the first time since 2022. The Ukraine omission marks a break in BRICS's consistent stance on Russia's invasion, and the article's own verdict that the outcome was "more a relief than a victory" suggests the group's recent expansion is producing paralysis precisely when global conflicts demand clearer positions from the Global South.
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