Differences surface in BRICS over West Asia, Sherpas rush to build consensus on joint statement

The main difficulty is the language to be used on the situation in West Asia, especially the positions of Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Both countries are BRICS members and have taken different positions on the military confrontation in the region.

India has proposed language that could avoid naming or condemning any particular country. The draft is expected to refer to basic principles such as opposition to unprovoked aggression and respect for the UN Charter.

Citing officials, ThePrint reported that New Delhi is confident the BRICS members will reach an agreement. India's strong bilateral relations with both Iran and the UAE are being seen as useful in finding wording that both sides can accept.

BRICS sherpas (senior government officials or diplomats) have been holding mostly face-to-face meetings since Tuesday (September 8). Different drafts circulated until Wednesday (September 9) had not produced an agreement on the West Asia section.

Citing a source, the publication said India's relations with Iran and the UAE, along with the “positive and constructive approach” taken by all BRICS members towards the talks, could help the countries settle on language that is acceptable to everyone.

A diplomatic source told the website that some differences between Iran and the UAE are still being worked out. Another diplomatic source said India wants to ensure that the leaders' declaration is issued and believes its relations with all members can help build agreement.

The same source also referred to the recent improvement in India-China ties as another example of New Delhi's ability to handle difficult issues involving different positions in BRICS.

Why BRICS is stuck on West Asia wording

The leaders' summit starts on Saturday, followed by an outreach summit on Sunday (September 13) involving leaders of invited partner countries and regional organisations. At present, the Iran-UAE differences are seen as the main issue still holding up agreement on the West Asia language.

India is preparing for the BRICS summit with several events beginning on Friday. Russia has confirmed President Vladimir Putin's participation, and his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled for the same day.

BRICS leaders are also expected to attend the BRICS Business Forum on Friday evening. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to attend the summit, while preparations are underway for Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrival in New Delhi.

Expansion has made BRICS consensus difficult

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is confident that the summit will produce a joint declaration covering the main areas of interest for the group, including the development priorities of its members.

BRICS leaders have issued joint declarations at every summit since the first leaders' meeting in 2009. Reaching agreement has become difficult since the group began expanding.

Until 2023, it consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The Johannesburg summit that year approved the expansion of the bloc. Five new members – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Iran – joined in 2024. Indonesia became a member in 2025.

The difficulty was visible since September 2024, when an expanded BRICS foreign ministers' meeting held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly ended without a joint statement. Egypt and Ethiopia did not accept language supporting South Africa's demand for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC).

A BRICS foreign ministers' meeting hosted by Brazil in April 2025 also failed to reach agreement on a joint statement. The leaders' summit that year eventually ended with a joint declaration.

India faced a similar problem at the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting it hosted in May. Differences between Iran and the UAE prevented agreement on parts of the final text.

The ministers issued a 63-paragraph statement, though members objected to language in paragraphs 26 and 29. Iran did not agree to the wording in paragraph 26, which said that “Gaza Strip is an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

Paragraph 29 called for ensuring “the rights and freedoms of navigation for vessels of all countries in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab strait”. Members had differences over parts of the language in both paragraphs.

A BRICS meeting of representatives from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in April also failed to settle several issues. The main differences involved wording on Palestine and Gaza, with some countries objecting to language they felt weakened their positions.

Brazil and Egypt had raised objections to language proposed by India during the MENA meeting. BRICS members later found wording on Gaza at the foreign ministers' meeting that broadly accommodated their national positions.

A diplomatic source said there are presently no differences over the Palestine-related language proposed for the leaders' declaration.

India seeks wording all can back

India's effort to settle the West Asia section fits with New Delhi's stated approach of encouraging dialogue and diplomacy in international conflicts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered to help bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table. During his meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, last month, he also called for an end to the war that has continued for nearly five years.

A few days later, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Kyiv and repeated India's call for dialogue and diplomacy.

India also managed to agree on wording on the Russia-Ukraine war during its G20 presidency in September 2023. The language was accepted by the G20 members after negotiations involving the United States, European Union (EU) members and Russia.