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This Friday, talks among BRICS leaders began in India on the eve of their summit this weekend, amid global geopolitical turbulence such as the war in Ukraine or the conflict in the Middle East.
The host of the meeting, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, welcomed in the afternoon in New Delhi the presidents Vladimir Putin and Iranian Massoud Pezeshkian, the first in a long series of one-on-one talks.
The other high-profile guest of the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping, is expected Saturday in the Indian capital.
The open conflict in the Middle East at the end of February, sparked by American and Israeli strikes on Iran, is set to feed part of the discussions in New Delhi.
“Iran has suffered heavy sanctions in recent years; these pressures have reached a critical and dangerous stage in recent months following the military aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran,” said the Iranian head of state in his first address in India.
“When a country endures political and military pressure on its trade, its energy, its infrastructure and its financial system, the repercussions cross borders,” added Mr. Pezeshkian.
Iran has retaliated by locking the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of world oil flowed before the war. This blockade continues to push up crude prices.
The BRICS forum was created in 2009 to bring together the major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and later South Africa) outside institutions dominated by the United States and Western powers such as the G7.
The bloc has since expanded notably to Iran and the United Arab Emirates, also announced in New Delhi.
