Modi and Putin Deepen Ties as BRICS Pushes Back Against Western Dominance

New Delhi, September 2026

As world leaders gathered in New Delhi for this year's BRICS summit, the spotlight fell on a familiar but consequential partnership: India and Russia. On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down on the sidelines of the summit and agreed to deepen a relationship that stretches back decades, setting the tone for a gathering increasingly framed as a counterweight to Western economic influence.

A Bloc With a Message

Putin didn't mince words at the accompanying BRICS business forum. Speaking to an audience that included Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, he argued that Western nations are using increasingly aggressive tactics to hold onto their economic dominance — from sanctions and tariff threats to what he described as attacks on industrial and logistics infrastructure, including pipelines and shipping routes. His conclusion: BRICS needs to build its own durable platform for global growth, one that operates outside the rules set by Western institutions.

It's a message Putin has delivered before, but the timing gives it extra weight. The summit comes amid mounting friction between BRICS members and Washington. President Trump has threatened an additional 10% tariff on any country he views as aligning with what he calls the bloc's "anti-American" agenda, and separately has floated 100% tariffs on nations that continue purchasing Russian oil and gas — a group that notably includes both India and China, two of BRICS's largest economies.

India's Balancing Act

For Modi, the summit is as much about diplomacy as economics. India has spent the past few years walking a tightrope: maintaining warm relations with Russia and Iran while also preserving strategic and economic ties with the United States, Gulf Arab states, and Israel. That balancing act has grown harder as ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to disrupt global shipping and trade routes.

Still, the India-Russia relationship shows no signs of cooling. The two countries have set an ambitious target of raising bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, up from roughly $70 billion in 2024-25 — a goal that will require overcoming exactly the kind of sanctions pressure and secondary tariff threats Putin spent much of his speech criticizing.

What It Means for BRICS

This year's summit reinforces a trend that's been building since BRICS expanded its membership: the bloc is increasingly positioning itself not just as an economic forum, but as a political statement. Putin's rhetoric about a "new, sustainable platform for global growth" reflects Russia's broader interest in demonstrating that Western attempts to isolate it — economically and diplomatically — haven't worked.

Whether that vision translates into concrete outcomes remains to be seen. BRICS has long struggled to move beyond symbolic unity toward shared institutions with real teeth, whether on trade, currency, or infrastructure. But with Xi Jinping, Pezeshkian, and other Global South leaders in attendance, and Washington watching closely, this year's gathering is a reminder that the bloc's ambitions — and the tensions it provokes — are only growing.

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This is a developing story around an active geopolitical dispute. For the latest updates, check original wire reporting from outlets covering the summit directly.