Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in New Delhi for a BRICS summit overshadowed by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East
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More divergent than 95% of recent comparable stories (reference: 99 recent stories measured with the same method).
Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday, September 11, 2026, on the eve of the opening of the 18th BRICS summit, which India is hosting from September 12 to 13. Xi Jinping is making his first visit to India in nearly seven years, with a meeting scheduled with Narendra Modi on the first day of the summit. The bloc, which brings together eleven countries representing nearly half of the world's population and around 40% of global GDP, is holding its meeting as the war in Ukraine and the conflict surrounding Iran are dividing its members. India has deployed more than 30,000 security personnel for the occasion.
The summit has not yet produced a joint statement: the differences between the UAE and Iran, which were already blocking progress in May, remain unresolved.
The UAE, members of the bloc, suspended their exchanges with Iran in August after Iranian missile strikes.
Xi and Modi had not met in India since the Mamallapuram summit in 2019, before the Galwan clash in 2020.
Dhaka is considering not sending a representative, amidst a diplomatic crisis related to Sheikh Hasina.
Moscow and New Delhi are also discussing the sale of Russian stealth fighters Su-57 to India, according to the Moscow Times.
Key figures
- 30,000Security forces deployed in New Delhi for the summit1 source · Al Jazeera
Where this figure comes from
… disrupt energy markets, shipping routes and global trade, says Al Jazeera. India has deployed more than 30,000 security personnel for the meeting and restricted traffic around hotels hosting foreign delegations. What is …
Source: TBS Top News Exact passage from the article, in its original language, where this number was found during the pre-publication check.
- $100bnTarget for India-Russia bilateral trade exchanges mentioned by Putin and Modi, by 20301 source · Moscow Times
Where this figure comes from
… to the supplied report. Discussions were expected to include plans to raise annual bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030 and expand cooperation in defence, energy and critical minerals. The two sides were also …
Source: TBS Top News Exact passage from the article, in its original language, where this number was found during the pre-publication check.
Other figures compared across countries
Share of Russian oil in Indian imports
Basis of comparison: Share of Russian crude in India's total oil imports, in July 2026
The two datasets retain the same record of 51% for July 2026, a convergent figure that highlights the weight of Russia in Indian oil supply despite Western sanctions.
Values by country (2)
- Australia · 51 %PerthNow
- Pakistan · 51%Business Recorder
India-Russia bilateral trade target
Basis of comparison: Target announced for bilateral trade exchanges between India and Russia by 2030
Four separate datasets converge on the same quantified goal of $100 billion by 2030, a sign of an official figure widely reprinted as is by the international press.
Values by country (4)
- India · 100 billion dollarsThe Guardian India
- Italy · around $100 billionLibero Quotidiano
- Russia · 100 billion dollarsMoscow Times
- Nepal · 100 billion dollarsThe Kathmandu Post
Security deployment in New Delhi
Basis of comparison: Security force personnel deployed by India for the September 12-13 summit
The two corpora report the same threshold of more than 30,000 members of the security forces, a sign of an official figure being reproduced in an identical manner.
Values by country (2)
- Bangladesh · more than 30,000The Daily Star World
- Qatar · more than 30,000Gulf Times
Share of the BRICS in the global GDP
Basis of comparison: Share of global gross domestic product represented by the economies of the BRICS
The two corpora cite a different share of global GDP for the same bloc, Moscow advancing over 40% over five years, while the Nepalese press, citing local analysts, retains around 35%, a gap that illustrates the absence of a single consensual measure.
What the comparison reveals
Common ground and differences in coverage across the media analysed.
What the media report in common
The summit marks Xi Jinping's first visit to India in nearly seven years, his previous visit dating back to 2019, six years after a deadly confrontation on the Himalayan border.
The 18th BRICS summit is being held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, under a strengthened security arrangement, with the official theme of 'resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability'.
Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi have set a goal of increasing bilateral trade between India and Russia to $100 billion by 2030.
Where media coverage diverges
Scope in the face of the Western order
Russia and China present the bloc as a multipolar alternative accounting for more than 40% of global GDP, while American and German readings highlight internal divisions limiting this scope.
Coverage that diverges
Common BRICS currency
Moscow is pushing for interoperability of payments in national currencies, while the American press reports that India and Brazil are resisting the idea of a common currency for the bloc and new loans for sanctioned Russia.
Coverage aligned with this reading
Coverage that diverges
Central fault line
Perspectives do not agree on the conflict deemed most decisive for the bloc's cohesion: some focus the narrative on the division between the UAE and Iran, others on the war in Ukraine, with the Chinese press not explicitly mentioning either.
This grouping describes the publications analysed, not the position of these countries’ populations or of their governments.
How each country frames the event
- economic
- AustraliaEgyptIndonesiaItalyMalaysiaRussiaSingaporeUnited States
- sovereignty
- IndiaChinaNepalPakistan
- diplomatic
- BangladeshPhilippinesSouth Africa
- security
- GermanyFranceQatar
4 different framings across 18 countries · 8 of 18 countries share the same framing
Pair by pair: same frame or different frames
Each square pairs two countries. Filled: both countries' coverage uses the same frame. Empty: their frames differ. The map describes framings without evaluating them.
Pairs with the same frame: 40 of 153
- same frame
- different frames
Blind spots
What the coverage of each country leaves aside, while others put it forward.
China- internal divisions of the bloc on the war in Ukraine
- fracture between the United Arab Emirates and Iran
Egypt- internal divisions of the bloc on the war in Ukraine
- fracture between the United Arab Emirates and Iran
Nepal- internal divisions of the bloc on the war in Ukraine
Geopolitical context
The 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi brings together an expanded bloc representing nearly half of the world's population and around 40% of global GDP, in a context marked by the war in Ukraine and the conflict surrounding Iran, which is dividing, among others, the United Arab Emirates and Tehran. Xi Jinping's visit, his first to India in seven years, illustrates a cautious thaw with New Delhi, while Vladimir Putin presents the bloc as a showcase of resilience in the face of Western sanctions. Members of the Global South, from Egypt to Indonesia, see it first and foremost as an economic platform, while India's South Asian neighbors read the summit in light of their own bilateral relations with New Delhi.
Understand the context
- AUG 31, 2026Modi and Putin meet at the SCO summit in Bishkek
- SEP 11, 2026Putin arrives in New Delhi and meets Modi and Iranian President Pezeshkian
- SEP 12, 2026Xi Jinping arrives in Delhi; the BRICS summit opens, meeting scheduled with Modi
How each country reads it
Preview: 3 of 18 media perspectives. Syntheses of the media analysed — not direct quotations. Method & limitations
IndiaNew Delhi is measuring the thaw with Beijing in light of Galwan, while hosting Putin and the BRICS bloc under maximum security surveillance.
4 sources · View sources
AustraliaCanberra is measuring the Indian paradox: a Quad partner against Beijing, New Delhi remains the largest buyer of Russian oil, a huge gap that the BRICS summit is putting back in the spotlight.
2 sources · View sources
BangladeshDhaka is measuring its presence at the BRICS summit in New Delhi in light of a bilateral rift with India, stemming from Sheikh Hasina's remarks since the Indian capital, more than from the wars in Ukraine or the Middle East that dominate the bloc's agenda.
3 sources · View sources
The full text, country by country
India
DOMINANT ANGLE
New Delhi is measuring the thaw with Beijing in light of Galwan, while hosting Putin and the BRICS bloc under maximum security surveillance.
ANALYSIS
New Delhi, Saturday, September 12, 2026.
Australia
DOMINANT ANGLE
Canberra is measuring the Indian paradox: a Quad partner against Beijing, New Delhi remains the largest buyer of Russian oil, a huge gap that the BRICS summit is putting back in the spotlight.
ANALYSIS
Canberra, September 11, 2026.
Bangladesh
DOMINANT ANGLE
Dhaka is measuring its presence at the BRICS summit in New Delhi in light of a bilateral rift with India, stemming from Sheikh Hasina's remarks since the Indian capital, more than from the wars in Ukraine or the Middle East that dominate the bloc's agenda.
ANALYSIS
Dhaka, September 12, 2026.
China
DOMINANT ANGLE
Beijing is framing the BRICS summit around the thaw with India, presenting Xi Jinping's visit to Delhi as proof of cautious normalization, seven years after his last trip and six years after the 2020 border clash.
ANALYSIS
Beijing, Saturday, September 12, 2026.
Germany
DOMINANT ANGLE
Germany sees how the wars in Ukraine and around Iran weigh on the BRICS summit in New Delhi, where Indian strategic autonomy clashes with a China and a Russia that are less aligned than they appear.
ANALYSIS
Berlin, September 12, 2026.
Egypt
DOMINANT ANGLE
Cairo is capitalizing on this third consecutive summit to anchor Egypt as a relay for the Global South to BRICS markets, rather than on the Ukrainian or Iranian fractures that cross the bloc.
ANALYSIS
Cairo, September 12, 2026.
France
DOMINANT ANGLE
Paris is deciphering a BRICS+ summit divided by the wars in Ukraine and around Iran, between a hard Russian-Chinese line and an Emirati withdrawal.
ANALYSIS
Paris, September 12, 2026.
Indonesia
DOMINANT ANGLE
Jakarta gauges the New Delhi summit in terms of dedollarization and the commercial margins it opens for Indonesia, a full-fledged member of the BRICS since January 2025, more than the wars in Ukraine or the Middle East that are dividing the bloc.
ANALYSIS
Jakarta, Saturday, September 12, 2026.
Italy
DOMINANT ANGLE
Rome is deciphering the BRICS summit in New Delhi mainly through the figures of Russo-Indian trade, focusing on the goal of $100 billion in exchanges between Moscow and New Delhi by 2030 rather than the diplomatic negotiations of the bloc.
ANALYSIS
Rome, Saturday, September 12, 2026.
Malaysia
DOMINANT ANGLE
Kuala Lumpur is counting on the BRICS summit in New Delhi to multiply bilateral meetings for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, placing the economic and trade agenda ahead of the geopolitical tensions crossing the bloc.
ANALYSIS
Kuala Lumpur, Friday, September 11, 2026.
Nepal
DOMINANT ANGLE
Kathmandu is questioning its own silence in the face of the BRICS summit being held at its doorstep, in New Delhi, where India and China, its two most powerful neighbors, are already setting the rules for a nascent multipolar order.
ANALYSIS
Katmandou, September 12, 2026.
Philippines
DOMINANT ANGLE
Manila draws from the BRICS summit a platform for ASEAN, more than a rally to the bloc.
ANALYSIS
Manille, September 11, 2026.
Pakistan
DOMINANT ANGLE
Islamabad views with suspicion the thaw between India and China in New Delhi, a rapprochement that directly affects the regional strategic balance on which Pakistan depends, as Beijing's historic ally and long-time rival of New Delhi.
ANALYSIS
Islamabad, Friday, September 11, 2026.
Qatar
DOMINANT ANGLE
Doha is gauging how the war surrounding Iran is fracturing the displayed unity of the BRICS, as Abu Dhabi and Tehran, two members of the bloc, find themselves on openly opposing lines with New Delhi.
ANALYSIS
Doha, September 12, 2026.
Russia
DOMINANT ANGLE
Moscow took away from the New Delhi summit the demonstration of a bloc accounting for more than 40% of global GDP, capable of building its own payment circuits in the face of Western restrictions.
ANALYSIS
Moscow, Friday, September 11, 2026.
Singapore
DOMINANT ANGLE
Singapore sees the BRICS summit in New Delhi as a test of the bloc's trade and energy resilience in the face of Western sanctions and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
ANALYSIS
Singapour, Friday, September 11, 2026.
United States
DOMINANT ANGLE
The United States downplays the significance of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, counting on divisions between India, China, Russia, and Brazil to neutralize any alternative to the American order.
ANALYSIS
Washington, September 11, 2026.
South Africa
DOMINANT ANGLE
Pretoria is counting on the BRICS summit in New Delhi to amplify the voice of the Global South, driven by the Indian presidency, more than to influence the Ukraine or Middle East files that are dividing the expanded bloc.
ANALYSIS
Pretoria, Friday, September 11, 2026.
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