BRICS urges Middle East restraint at New Delhi summit

BRICS leaders called for “maximum restraint” in the Middle East in a joint statement issued Saturday at a summit in New Delhi, overcoming earlier divisions in the 11-nation group.

The bloc, which includes China, Russia, Iran and India, said it was deeply concerned by the “continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia” and urged countries to avoid actions that could further aggravate the situation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told the summit that the Middle East war “does not serve the common interests of the international community”. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said BRICS members “represent 50 percent of the world's population, 40 percent of global GDP and more than 25 percent of global trade”.

BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement when they met in New Delhi in May. Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were divided over the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on February 28. Leaders issued Saturday's statement after diplomatic efforts by host India.

The summit also drew attention to China-India relations. Xi received a red-carpet welcome on his first visit to India since 2019 and met Modi in what marked another step in a cautious thaw between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

India's foreign ministry said the two leaders expressed commitment to a “fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question”. It said Modi underlined the need for both sides to observe existing agreements and understandings on border issues.

Their disputed Himalayan frontier remains unresolved, and both sides retain heavy military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometre high-altitude border. Dozens of Tibetans protested in New Delhi against Xi's visit.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also attended the summit and met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines.