Putin Arrives in Delhi for BRICS Summit, Set for Talks with PM Modi

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the BRICS summit and hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with cooperation in defence, energy and technology expected to feature prominently.

The two leaders last met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek last week. During that encounter, PM Modi urged the Russian President to move away from an "endless war" towards an "end of war", a reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that began five years ago following Moscow's full-scale invasion.

"We have to move from a situation of 'endless war' to 'end of war'... It is humanity's wish that the end of this war happens as soon as possible," PM Modi had said.

Friday's meeting is expected to cover areas of strategic importance to both countries, including defence projects such as upgrades to the BrahMos missile. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that the two sides were exploring BrahMos upgrades, that Russia remained committed to completing its pending S-400 system deliveries, and that discussions would include the proposed supply of Su-57 fighter jets. Negotiations on India's plans to build new civil nuclear reactors are also on the table.

Putin will attend the two-day BRICS summit that India is hosting as the current chair. He is scheduled to address the Plenary Session of the annual BRICS Business Forum and will later visit the Innoprom exhibition with PM Modi.

On the sidelines, the Russian President will hold meetings with other visiting leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. No separate full-format meeting has been scheduled between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is visiting India after a gap of seven years.

Xi and PM Modi will hold talks on Saturday evening covering trade and investment, and are expected to review the overall situation along the Line of Actual Control. PM Modi will also hold discussions with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday.

India's BRICS chairship is guided by the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. Among those attending the summit are Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank chief Zou Jiayi will also be present.

BRICS originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In 2024 it expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining last year. The summit agenda includes enhancing cooperation in trade, investment, connectivity and high technology, as well as health, agriculture, food, energy, disaster risk reduction and supply chains. During its chairship, India aims to steer the grouping towards championing the Global South's core developmental priorities.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, more than 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held across over 25 Indian cities under New Delhi's chairship. The summit begins at 2:35 pm on Saturday and will conclude with the release of the New Delhi Declaration.