Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to participate in the Brics summit being held in India in Sept, reported Russia’s TASS news agency on Wednesday. The report quoted a Kremlin spokesperson as saying that while the dates for the summit have not been announced yet, the president would definitely attend the event.If it happens, it would be Putin’s second visit to India in nine months. He had last visited India in Dec for the annual India-Russia summit. PM Narendra Modi is also likely to visit Moscow this year for the 2026 annual summit. Govt is also expecting participation by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Brics summit.India holds the presidency for Brics this year and will host the grouping’s foreign ministers’ meeting on May 14-15. India has been working to forge a consensus among the member-states for a joint statement on the war in the West Asia region.Iranian leaders, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, have pressed India to get Brics to express solidarity with Tehran. However, the presence of both Iran and the UAE in the group has prevented Brics from speaking in one voice over the ongoing conflict.Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the meeting. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi is also expected to visit India for the meeting. As the relationship with China continues to improve steadily, Beijing has pledged support for India’s Brics presidency. President Xi Jinping is also expected to visit India for the Brics summit.
