BRICS Delhi Declaration avoids blame, omits Ukraine — SkimNews
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- BRICS leaders including India's Modi, China's Xi, Russia's Putin, Iran's Pezeshkian, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled and South Africa's Ramaphosa gathered at a vast circular table in Delhi — countries with histories of border disputes and military confrontations, including the 2020 India-China border clash.
- The "New Delhi Declaration" was adopted on the first day — after two earlier BRICS ministerial meetings this year failed to produce a joint statement — but made no mention of Russia's war in Ukraine, a departure from previous declarations.
- On the Iran war, the declaration urged "maximum restraint" and condemned "attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities" without assigning blame, and listed concerns over "indiscriminate rising tariffs" without naming the US or Trump.
- Iran's Pezeshkian and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince held their highest-level face-to-face meeting since the Iran war began, with Pezeshkian pressing for deeper economic ties with Brics members including Malaysia, India and Ethiopia.
- China's Xi Jinping visited Delhi for the first time in seven years, exchanging a handshake — not Modi's signature hug — with Modi, with both sides agreeing to strengthen business ties and transport links, though Xi stayed less than 24 hours and skipped Modi's Saturday gala dinner.
- India's Modi pushed for "strategic autonomy in an era of war," stating the group is "not against anyone," declining to cast BRICS as an anti-Western bloc despite pressure from China, Russia and Iran to dilute Western influence.
Why it matters: By omitting Ukraine entirely and declining to name any party in the Iran war, BRICS preserved its ability to keep rivals like Iran, the UAE and Russia at the same table — but produced no concrete policy consensus on the wars reshaping its members. For India, which wants strategic autonomy without alienating Washington or its eastern partners, the carefully balanced declaration is itself the deliverable.
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