Hoping to paper cracks in BRICS over war, New Delhi sends out invitations for FMs’ meet and Summit

Hoping to forge an elusive consensus over the war in West Asia, New Delhi is going ahead with planning key meetings of BRICS countries this year in India, and has sent out invitations for the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be held in May and the 18th BRICS Summit in September.

According to a number of officials and diplomats, the invitations to the 10-nation grouping that also includes Iran and the United Arab Emirates went out in mid-March. Both countries have rebuffed several attempts by India— as the current Chair of BRICS— to issue a joint statement. Officials said it is unclear whether they will attend the meeting together, but that “as of now” the BRICS Foreign minister’s meeting is due to be held in-person in mid-May. The summit, which could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders from Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE together in Delhi, is expected to be held on September 9-10.

“One of the key events on the political track, in addition to the traditional leaders’ meeting [in September], will be the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, scheduled for May,” Russian government spokesperson Maria Zakharova told journalists in Moscow this week. “This will be a good opportunity for a thorough discussion of current issues on the international agenda, the role of BRICS in the world, and opportunities for joint action,” she said, responding to questions about how the grouping of emerging non-Western economies would tackle the war in West Asia, where Iran has responded to U.S.-Israel strikes since February 28 by targeting Gulf countries, especially the UAE. 

With India being the 2026 Chair of the grouping, diplomats have openly acknowledged difficulties in forging a statement that is agreeable to both Tehran and Abu Dhabi. 

“We have an ongoing conversation with BRICS members on the conflict in West Asia,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing on Friday (March 27, 2026). “As you’re aware, some of the BRICS members are also involved directly in the conflict… Because we have differing opinions, it has been difficult for us to forge a consensus on this particular conflict.”

In June 2025, the BRICS, then chaired by Brazil had managed to issue a strong statement when the U.S. and Israel jointly struck a number of Iranian nuclear sites, condemning the military strikes against Iran as “a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations”, and expressed serious concern over “deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under full safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in violation of international law and relevant resolutions of the IAEA”. 

While Iran had launched missiles and drones at Israel last year, after the attacks that killed its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28, Iran broadened its strikes to U.S. bases and other buildings across several Gulf states, which India has condemned. 

New Delhi’s failure to forge a consensus amongst countries to discuss the current conflict and energy crisis was criticised by the Opposition during an all-party meeting on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. According to sources, Opposition MPs asked External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar why he had not convened meetings of his counterparts from the BRICS, as well as the U.S.-India-Japan-Australia Quad grouping, both of which India chairs this year, and both of which include members who are involved in the war. 

Mr. Jaishankar is believed to have explained the difficulties in the situation, adding that despite not being able to forge statements, India was one of the very few countries engaging all parties in the conflict.