Modi, Putin seek stronger ties as Russia calls for BRICS to counter West

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Friday to deepen their countries’ longstanding ties, with Putin saying the BRICS grouping should build a new platform for global growth free from Western rules. Modi and Putin held talks in the Indian capital on the eve of a BRICS summit, which Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, among others, are due to attend. New Delhi is engaged in a diplomatic balancing act as it tries to maintain strong ties with the U. S. , Gulf Arab states, Russia, Iran and Israel, while suffering the impact of shipping and trade disruptions due to the Ukraine and Iran wars. The BRICS bloc is seeking to raise its profile by influencing international rules and institutions, even as its members are split over the Gulf conflict with Iran and the UAE on opposite sides.

Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told Reuters that BRICS was transitioning from a geopolitical grouping into a more practical economic partnership focused on enabling cooperation between businesses, technology companies and investors, as well as improving payment systems and joint infrastructure. DEMAND FOR REFORM “We have always been told that competition is a sacred cow, something that must not be touched,” Putin told a BRICS business forum event. “Yet, unfortunately, today your Western competitors are trying by any means necessary to regain their former leadership. ” “This competition is sometimes assuming unsightly forms,” he said, as Modi, Pezeshkian and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa listened. “They even include direct physical attacks or the destruction of industrial and logistical facilities, pipelines, and so forth. ” Putin said attempts were being made to block international transport corridors and…