BRICS summit adopts New Delhi declaration on Middle East conflict

Leaders of the five BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—convened in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their eighteenth summit. The meeting brought together Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other officials. The bloc unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration, which expressed deep concern about the continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East and advocated exercising maximum restraint while promoting a multilateral approach that respects different national viewpoints. The declaration avoided directly naming the United States, Israel or Iran as responsible for the six-month war affecting the region, reflecting disagreements within BRICS about how openly to criticise Washington and its allies. However, the text specifically addressed Israel's legal obligation to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza and expressed firm opposition to the forced displacement of Palestinians. The declaration called for an end to Israeli violence in Gaza, backed the UN relief agency UNRWA and reaffirmed support for full United Nations membership for the Palestinian state. The summit took place at Bharat Mandapam while the United States has been imposing tariffs and sanctions on several BRICS members connected to their trade relations with Russia and Iran. Modi held separate bilateral meetings with Putin and Pezeshkian before his scheduled meeting with Xi, which observers described as a test of whether bloc members could maintain unity despite competing pressures from Washington.