Putin: BRICS ‘not against anyone,’ but for members’ prosperity

BRICS is “not against anyone” but focused on the development and prosperity of its members, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, as world leaders gathered in New Delhi for the grouping’s 18th summit.

Putin made the remarks at the BRICS Business Forum on Friday, part of a packed program of bilateral talks and discussions on trade, investment, energy, and global challenges, before the leaders’ meeting formally opened on Saturday.

“BRICS’ work is not directed against anyone,” Putin said. “It is aimed at only one common goal: the sustainable development and prosperity of our countries and peoples.”

Putin said the group seeks to unlock its members’ potential through “business diplomacy,” making it easier for companies and entrepreneurs to cooperate and invest.

READ MORE: Russia ‘open to working with the whole world’ – Putin He contrasted this with what he called the West’s “ugly forms” of competition, including unilateral “illegal restrictions” and secondary sanctions against countries “unwilling to follow others’ interests.”

Despite the tensions, Putin stressed that Moscow does not intend to retreat behind political blocs: “We are open to working with the whole world.”

Friday saw Putin hold a flurry of meetings with New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

READ MORE: BRICS: The gears of change keep grinding He also held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed cooperation in trade, energy, defense, space, and other sectors.

Friday’s whirlwind of diplomacy and Indian pageantry set the stage for two days of leaders’ talks. What began as a four-country forum has grown into an 11-member economic heavyweight with increasing global clout as geopolitical tensions mount and the Western-led international order comes under growing pressure.

RT reporters are on the ground in New Delhi covering the 18th BRICS Summit, which runs through Sunday.

Follow the latest developments from New Delhi below.

BRICS is emerging as a key center of global governance because it is built on equality and respect for its members, Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the summit in New Delhi.

“We are based on respect for the traditions, values and history of each other. That’s why our authority is growing,” Putin said, highlighting the bloc’s “huge intellectual and technological potential.”

“It is on our joint actions and decisions that global politics and security, the global economy and humanitarian cooperation depend,” he added.

BRICS has an opportunity to use its growing economic and political clout to help resolve global crises where Western-led approaches have failed, South African researcher Mikatekiso Kubayi has told RT.“The world is watching,” he said, pointing to the Ukraine conflict and tensions in West Asia. Kubayi said closer coordination between BRICS members would allow the bloc to “flex its potential” on the global stage.

Modi has proposed that BRICS draw up ten proposals for reforming global governance by its next summit and turn them into a roadmap for change.

“United Nations Security Council reforms cannot be avoided anymore,” Modi said, also urging BRICS to strengthen its own working mechanisms so that its rotating presidency does not slow the grouping’s momentum.

“If our future is together, then the progress towards it must also be together.”

READ MORE: BRICS 2026: Putin and Modi have high expectations going into key summit BRICS has entered a new stage where “dreams meet responsibility,” Modi has told the summit, marking 20 years since the grouping’s beginning.

“We respect each other’s interests and move ahead with consensus. We are not against anyone,” Modi said, echoing remarks made on Friday by Vladimir Putin, and calling for cooperation to be translated into tangible results on the global stage.

“From voice to impact, from privilege to partnership – this is the resolve of BRICS at 20,” he added.

In his opening remarks at the BRICS Summit, Modi has called for an overhaul of global governance, arguing that developing nations bear the brunt of global crises while having too little say in decision-making.

“The Global South is today in the front row of global crises, but in the back row as far as decision-making is concerned,” Modi said.

“We must transform this pyramid of privilege into a platform of partnership,” he said, calling for a system “where every country has a voice” and “every member has a stake.”

Modi also greeted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on arrival at the summit.

South Africa joined the original BRIC group in 2010, which became BRICS, and has championed closer South-South cooperation. Pretoria and New Delhi are also longstanding partners through BRICS and the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) forum.

Modi welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the BRICS Summit, with footage showing the two leaders shaking hands and exchanging words before entering the venue.

China and India are two of the group’s founding members and among its largest economies. Xi and Modi are due to hold talks as Beijing calls for greater cooperation and the “proper” handling of differences between the two countries.

READ MORE: India’s defense export story is becoming harder to ignore India and Russia have moved from a traditional buyer-seller defense relationship toward joint design, production, and exports, former BrahMos Aerospace chief Sudhir Mishra told RT.

“The relationship has become much stronger with every phase that passes,” Mishra said, pointing to BrahMos as a model of “co-design, co-development, co-production.”

He also outlined potential upgrades to BrahMos, including a smaller next-generation missile and longer-range, faster variants, while highlighting opportunities in unmanned systems, lasers, and space technology.

“There is a huge asset of trust, love, affection, and respect between the two civilizations – Russian and Indian,” Mishra said.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov has arrived at the summit.

On the sidelines, he met his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar to discuss trade and investment, high-level contacts, e-visas for Indian travelers and expanding direct air links.

Warmly welcome Mr. Maxim Ryzhenkov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, to the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.India and Belarus share warm and friendly relations, marked by growing cooperation across a broad range of areas, in bilateral and multilateral spheres.#BRICS2026… pic.twitter.com/Sf799cR0ur

Vladimir Putin’s motorcade has arrived at the BRICS Summit venue in New Delhi, where he was greeted by Narendra Modi.

Footage shows Putin shaking hands with Modi as leaders gather for the summit’s main program.

READ MORE: BRICS 2026: Why India’s diplomacy-first approach matters in a polarized world As BRICS leaders gather in New Delhi, India is seeking to position itself as a diplomatic bridge in an increasingly polarized world. New Delhi has maintained ties with opposing sides in major conflicts, resisted Western pressure over Russian oil, and repeatedly called for dialogue rather than military solutions.

RT looks at how India’s ‘diplomacy-first’ approach has shaped its response to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East – and what it could mean for the BRICS Summit.

BRICS can withstand external pressure and continue to expand because it offers countries of the Global South an alternative platform based on mutual respect rather than Western dominance, Indian MP Sujeet Kumar told RT. Speaking on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, the BJP lawmaker stressed that the group is “non-West, but it is not anti-West,” arguing that Washington’s perception of BRICS as anti-American is “its problem, not the problem of BRICS.” Kumar said the group seeks greater representation for developing nations in global institutions, arguing that the existing governance architecture no longer reflects the economic and demographic realities. He cited growing BRICS membership and interest from other countries as evidence of demand for greater economic resilience, diversified supply chains, and a stronger voice for the Global South.

READ MORE: Why India and China are talking again Relations between China and India have steadily improved since a breakthrough meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS Summit in Kazan in 2024.

High-level contacts have resumed, progress has been made on managing their disputed border, direct flights have returned, and bilateral trade has reached record levels.

As the two leaders prepare to meet again at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, RT’s Marina Kosareva looks at how relations between the Asian powers have evolved.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in India for the BRICS Summit. His two-day visit is expected to include talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

No formal meeting between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled, although the two leaders could hold an informal conversation on the sidelines.

READ MORE: 20 years of BRICS: From Wall Street acronym to global power center This year’s gathering has particular significance – 20 years ago, in September 2006, the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, and China met for the first time on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Known at the time as ‘BRIC’, the fledgling group was widely seen as a political experiment with an uncertain future.

Two decades later, it has expanded into an economic heavyweight with growing global influence. RT looks at how BRICS went from a four-country forum to a major force challenging the old global order.

READ MORE: We’re on the brink of a world war that ends with nuclear weapons – Carlson to GU (EXCLUSIVE) Western efforts to isolate Russia have instead accelerated the shift of economic power toward BRICS and undermined the dollar’s global position, American journalist Tucker Carlson says.

Carlson told Afshin Rattansi’s Going Underground that cutting off Russia from the SWIFT financial system after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict gave other countries a powerful incentive to reduce reliance on the dollar.

“If we’re using the US dollar as a weapon of war, there’s no greater incentive for countries to de-dollarize,” he said. “That’s crazy. It’s self-destructive behavior.”

Carlson also argued that US, British, and German policies ultimately weakened the countries pursuing them. “This is self-harm we’re watching,” he said, adding that the effect has been “to dethrone the West” and “topple the American empire.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has held separate meetings with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday and met with the host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hours later, ahead of Saturday’s main summit program.

Modi has met with Ethiopia’s Abiy on the sidelines of the summit as well, hailing his first visit to India as taking an “old friendship into new frontiers.”

In a post on X, Modi said the talks covered defense, investment, critical minerals, clean energy, healthcare, and capacity building, with the two sides pledging to work on strengthening India-Africa ties and “amplify the voice of the Global South.”

India and Ethiopia are taking an old friendship into new frontiers! Delighted to welcome PM Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali on his first visit to India.Today’s talks covered: Defence. Capacity building. Investment linkages. Critical minerals. Clean energy. Healthcare.… pic.twitter.com/V7i1hqAqIu

Modi also welcomed Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for talks on the sidelines of the gathering.

The two discussed strengthening the India-UAE strategic partnership, including cooperation in trade, investment, technology, energy, and defense, as well as regional and global developments.

Khaled is leading the UAE delegation at the summit on behalf of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE joined BRICS as a full member in 2024.

BRICS members agree on strengthening national currencies and expanding their use in mutual trade, but remain divided over a single currency, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on the sidelines of the summit in New Delhi.

“There are different opinions” within BRICS, Araghchi told reporters. “All members of the group believe that national currencies should be strengthened and trade between member states should be conducted in national currencies.”

A common BRICS currency, however, “is still under consideration,” he added.

Araghchi: BRICS Is Moving Away From The Dollar, But Not To One Currency... YetIran's foreign minister says BRICS members agree on strengthening national currencies for trade, while a single currency is "still under consideration."📹 ANI pic.twitter.com/FAOh9O4iN3

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