Leaders of the 11-member BRICS group, including China, Russia, Iran and India, have called for calm and maximum restraint in the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.
The leaders issued a joint statement on Saturday at the BRICS summit in New Delhi after earlier divisions within the group prevented its foreign ministers from reaching an agreement on a joint position.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who joined Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders at the summit, said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East was not in the interests of the international community.
“The Middle East war does not serve the common interests of the international community,” Xi said.
The BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement when they met in New Delhi in May, with Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates divided over the conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on February 28.
However, intense diplomatic efforts by India, which is hosting the summit, resulted in the leaders agreeing on a joint statement.
“We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia,” the statement said.
The bloc added that its members “call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation”.
BRICS seeks greater global influence
BRICS was established in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in global institutions traditionally dominated by Western powers.
Opening the two-day summit, Modi told Xi, Putin, Pezeshkian and other leaders that the bloc could help reshape global relations.
“We have to transform this pyramid of privilege into a platform of partnership,” he said.
Modi said BRICS nations represented 50 per cent of the world’s population, 40 per cent of global gross domestic product and more than 25 per cent of global trade.
However, managing the bloc’s competing interests remains a major diplomatic challenge.
India maintains relations with Iran and US ally Israel while also seeking to preserve its strategic relationship with Washington.
Pezeshkian attended the summit shortly after saying that the Middle East did not need the United States to act as a “regional policeman”.
Iran and the US remain embroiled in a conflict that has heightened concerns over regional stability and shipping through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Pezeshkian also met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the summit.
India has also turned to Russia to help manage the energy crisis triggered by the US-Iran conflict, despite Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine and pressure from Washington and other Western governments.
Modi held talks with Putin on Friday, with the Russian leader remaining one of India’s key strategic partners.
Xi, Modi seek to ease China-India tensions
Xi’s visit to India is also being closely watched because it is his first visit to the country since 2019 and represents a further step towards improving relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Xi received a red-carpet welcome in New Delhi, including an honour guard and traditional dancers.
“Although our two countries are different in many respects, they are fully capable of complementing each other’s strengths, supporting one another, achieving mutual success and advancing together,” Xi said during his meeting with Modi.
The visit comes six years after a deadly military confrontation along the disputed border between China and India.
Relations have gradually improved, with the two sides restoring flights, visas and high-level diplomatic contacts.
However, the territorial dispute remains unresolved, while both countries continue to maintain significant military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometre Himalayan border.
India’s Foreign Ministry said the two leaders had reaffirmed their commitment to resolving the boundary dispute.
“The two leaders expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question,” the ministry said.
Modi also stressed the need for both countries to respect existing agreements and understandings concerning border issues.
Despite the diplomatic thaw, mistrust remains over the disputed frontier, India’s widening trade deficit with China and broader strategic competition.
Xi called for deeper economic cooperation and a more inclusive global economic system.
Dozens of Tibetans also protested in New Delhi on Friday against Xi’s visit, with demonstrators waving placards criticising the Chinese leader. Many of the protesters are Tibetan exiles who, like the Dalai Lama, have lived in India since fleeing China’s crackdown in 1959.