Putin Arrives in New Delhi as BRICS Summit Tests Unity

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday, September 11, 2026, for a three-day visit built around the 18th BRICS Summit, a gathering that analysts say will be shaped as much by the wars in Iran and Ukraine as by the economic cooperation the bloc was designed to showcase. Putin landed at Palam Air Force Station, where he was received by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirtivardhan Singh, according to Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. His itinerary includes an address to the BRICS Business Forum, bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a joint visit to the INNOPROM industrial exhibition. The main summit sessions open Saturday and run through Sunday at Bharat Mandapam under India's chairship, coinciding with the bloc's 20th anniversary. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is attending in what marks his first visit to India, and Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected on Saturday in his first trip to the country since 2019, a sign of a cautious thaw six years after a deadly border clash.