BRICS Summit 2026 Live Updates: Xi Jinping leaves for New Delhi, to hold talks with Modi

India is all set to host the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13 in New Delhi as the current chair of the influential grouping.

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025.

Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year.

India is a BRICS founding member and has previously held its chairship three times, in 2012, 2016 and 2021.

India assumed its fourth BRICS chairmanship on January 1 this year. The year 2026 also marks a milestone as BRICS completes 20 years since its establishment.

This year’s summit is set to see the attendance of several world leaders amid geopolitical uncertainties and trade tensions. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already met for talks on the eve of the summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit today will be in focus amid cautious thawing of India-China tensions.

Amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned European nations against sending troops to Kyiv, clarifying that the nation does not threaten European countries.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 2026 BRICS Summit, Putin affirmed that sending troops to Ukraine will mean “war with Russia.”

He said, “There is no such threat, and there has never been. We are not threatening European countries, nor are we going to threaten them. Why would we? No one seems to even consider that we have no grounds for any conflict with Europe. All issues were settled as a result of the Second World War. And what happened later, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, was done with the consent of the Russian Federation as the successor of the Soviet Union. Everything that runs counter to those arrangements runs counter to our interests and does not comply with the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter.” (ANI)

Xi Jinping visits New Delhi for the BRICS Summit, marking his first trip to India in nearly seven years.

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