The BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting that concluded here on Friday (May 15, 2026), reaffirmed the grouping’s call for the creation of an ‘independent and viable State of Palestine’ within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

While consensus emerged on the Statehood for Palestine, several other issues saw the members disagreeing among themselves, which prevented the emergence of a Joint Statement, leading instead to the release of a ‘Chair’s Statement and Outcome Document’.

Sources said that there were several significant disagreements between delegations of the United Arab Emirates and Iran, whose Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi addressed a press conference here on Friday (May 15, 2026), asserting Tehran’s position on multiple issues like the bitterness with the UAE and the control over the Strait of Hormuz, which he described as a maritime region that falls within the “territorial waters of Iran and Oman”.

“They reaffirmed their support for the State of Palestine’s full membership in the UN in the context of the unwavering commitment to the two-state solution in accordance with international law, including relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions and the Arab Peace initiative, that includes the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within the internationally recognized 1967 borders, which included Gaza Strip and the West Bak, with East Jerusalem as its capital, to achieve the vision of two States living side by side in peace and security,” the Chair’s Statement said.

While the segment on Palestinian statehood did not draw any objection from members, there were indications about the UAE’s objection from Mr. Araghchi, who, in response to a question on a reported objection from a BRICS member state on the paragraph on Gaza Strip, said, “Everybody knows which country blocked anything against Israel. This country provided in-depth help to the US and Israel with their military bases. As far as we are concerned, they are a direct party to this aggression and should be held responsible.”

The paragraph on the Gaza Strip described the territory as an “inseparable part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory” while calling for “unifying the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the Palestinian Authority”.

The focus on handing over the Gaza Strip’s control from Hamas, which is blamed for the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, to the Palestinian National Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas, is understandably the issue over which exchanges took place between Iran and the UAE, with both sides raising objections to “formulations”.

Sources also indicated that the paragraph in the document that highlights the importance of Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, where the Iran-backed Houthi militias have increased obstructive activities, also drew resistance from Iran. When asked, a source who was present inside the main conference hall in Bharat Mandapam on both days, said the exchanges between Iran and the UAE were extensive and candid and “both sides believed that they were right in dealing with the war in the way that they did.”

In his press conference, Mr. Araghchi highlighted the maritime situation in the Gulf region, saying the “situation in the Strait of Hormuz is complicated” and blamed the United States for the blockade. The Chair’s Statement and Outcome Document placed it on record that “There were differing views among some members as regards the situation in West Asia’/Middle East region.”

Urging continued dialogue between the U.S. and Iran that stalled after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposals earlier this week, the text reminded the “value of dialogue and diplomacy” and also called for “safe and unimpeded flow of maritime commerce through international waterways and the protection of civilian infrastructure and civilian lives.” The mention of “international waterways” was clearly aimed at the chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz that Mr. Araghchi refused to consider as an international maritime zone.

“Iran and Oman are two countries involved in the two sides of the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait is located in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, and there are no international waters in between. So, everything should be managed between Iran and Oman,” said Mr. Araghchi, explaining that the future arrangement is being discussed between the two countries that will ensure smooth navigation once the conflict ends.

The Hindu had reported that Kazem Gharibabadi, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, had announced here earlier this week that Iran is working with experts to create a “protocol” that will include a financial component for Tehran since it provides services like navigation and rescue support to vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. In response to a question, Mr. Araghchi said the port of Chabahar in Iran is like a “golden gate” for India to access Central Asia and the Caucasus and then Europe”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also addressed a restricted press briefing where he assured the Indian side of continued energy supplies from Russia and discussed cooperation on the North-South Transport Corridor, payment settlement in national currencies and nuclear energy cooperation.

Published – May 15, 2026 11:12 pm IST

Heads of delegation of BRICS countries during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s address at the third session of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi. Photo credit: PIB via PTI

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has pledged that agreements on energy supplies to India will be fulfilled despite unfair external competition, as he underlined that the relations between the two countries are based on friendship and there is no scenario in which their paths would diverge.

In an interview with Russia Today-India ahead of his visit to New Delhi this week, Mr. Lavrov also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is one of the most energetic leaders the world has ever seen.

“I can guarantee that India’s interests as they apply to Russian supplies will not suffer. We will do everything to ensure that this unfair and dishonest competition does not damage our agreements,” he said.

Mr. Lavrov pointed out that Russia has never failed to fulfil its obligations to India or anyone else when it comes to energy supplies.

“The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is our flagship project. It meets a significant share of India’s needs,” he said. “Cooperation on the construction of new power units for this nuclear plant is continuing. Even so, India needs more. We continue supplying hydrocarbons such as gas, oil, and coal.”

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant is being built in Tamil Nadu with the technical assistance of Russia. The construction began in March 2002. Since February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam NPP has been steadily operating at its design capacity of 1,000 MW.

The plant is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027, according to Russian state media.

Mr. Lavrov said Prime Minister Modi is “one of the most energetic leaders the world has ever known.”

“He possesses great energy and channels it towards extremely important goals such as achieving maximum sovereignty across all spheres: the economy, the military, defence, culture, and the preservation of India’s civilisational wealth, which is unmatched by any other country.”

Mr. Lavrov said the relations between India and Russia are based on friendship and there is no scenario in which their paths would diverge.

“There isn’t just one word for these relations. Not because human languages aren’t rich enough, but because it is hard to imagine a relationship so full and deep,” he said while replying to a question.

“A situation where our paths diverge simply does not exist — it is unthinkable. We began our conversation with the very foundation of Russian-Indian relations: friendship,” Mr. Lavrov noted.

Stating that ‘Hindi-Rusi bhai bhai’ (Indians and Russians are brothers), Mr. Lavrov said that’s not just a fun slogan to chant, it has become part of our culture.

“Indian cinema, Raj Kapoor, more recent television series and films — they are immensely popular in Russia, everywhere, in every corner. The economy, joint energy production, military cooperation, nuclear and other forms of energy, cultural and humanitarian ties, and a high-level political dialogue marked by unprecedented trust — all of it is rock solid,” he said.

“So anyone worried about the future of Russia-India friendship can rest assured. We must always be aware of the threats that some are posing to our relations, trying to undermine them, creating closed structures, and making attempts to impose their own rules on how to deal with Russia. We see all of that, and so do our Indian friends. That makes it all the more valuable that those attempts keep failing,” Mr. Lavrov added.

During his visit to India, Mr. Lavrov will hold talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting. The two Ministers will exchange views on current international and regional issues, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Special attention is expected to be paid to the situation in the Middle East. The Ministers are also expected to compare notes on cooperation within the UN, BRICS and the G20,” it added.

It said that the two Ministers will discuss a wide range of priority areas of bilateral cooperation.

“These include expanding trade, intensifying efforts to build sustainable transport, logistics, and financial channels protected from unlawful external pressure, deepening energy cooperation, and increasing collaboration in science and space technology,” the Ministry said.

Published – May 14, 2026 07:01 am IST

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has pledged that agreements on energy supplies to India will be fulfilled despite unfair external competition, as he underlined that the relations between the two countries are based on friendship and there is no scenario in which their paths would diverge.

In an interview with Russia Today-India ahead of his visit to New Delhi this week, Mr. Lavrov also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is one of the most energetic leaders the world has ever seen.

“I can guarantee that India’s interests as they apply to Russian supplies will not suffer. We will do everything to ensure that this unfair and dishonest competition does not damage our agreements,” he said.

Mr. Lavrov pointed out that Russia has never failed to fulfil its obligations to India or anyone else when it comes to energy supplies.

“The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is our flagship project. It meets a significant share of India’s needs,” he said. “Cooperation on the construction of new power units for this nuclear plant is continuing. Even so, India needs more. We continue supplying hydrocarbons such as gas, oil, and coal.”

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant is being built in Tamil Nadu with the technical assistance of Russia. The construction began in March 2002. Since February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam NPP has been steadily operating at its design capacity of 1,000 MW.

The plant is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027, according to Russian state media.

Mr. Lavrov said Prime Minister Modi is “one of the most energetic leaders the world has ever known.”

“He possesses great energy and channels it towards extremely important goals such as achieving maximum sovereignty across all spheres: the economy, the military, defence, culture, and the preservation of India’s civilisational wealth, which is unmatched by any other country.”

Mr. Lavrov said the relations between India and Russia are based on friendship and there is no scenario in which their paths would diverge.

“There isn’t just one word for these relations. Not because human languages aren’t rich enough, but because it is hard to imagine a relationship so full and deep,” he said while replying to a question.

“A situation where our paths diverge simply does not exist — it is unthinkable. We began our conversation with the very foundation of Russian-Indian relations: friendship,” Mr. Lavrov noted.

Stating that ‘Hindi-Rusi bhai bhai’ (Indians and Russians are brothers), Mr. Lavrov said that’s not just a fun slogan to chant, it has become part of our culture.

“Indian cinema, Raj Kapoor, more recent television series and films — they are immensely popular in Russia, everywhere, in every corner. The economy, joint energy production, military cooperation, nuclear and other forms of energy, cultural and humanitarian ties, and a high-level political dialogue marked by unprecedented trust — all of it is rock solid,” he said.

“So anyone worried about the future of Russia-India friendship can rest assured. We must always be aware of the threats that some are posing to our relations, trying to undermine them, creating closed structures, and making attempts to impose their own rules on how to deal with Russia. We see all of that, and so do our Indian friends. That makes it all the more valuable that those attempts keep failing,” Mr. Lavrov added.

During his visit to India, Mr. Lavrov will hold talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting. The two Ministers will exchange views on current international and regional issues, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Special attention is expected to be paid to the situation in the Middle East. The Ministers are also expected to compare notes on cooperation within the UN, BRICS and the G20,” it added.

It said that the two Ministers will discuss a wide range of priority areas of bilateral cooperation.

“These include expanding trade, intensifying efforts to build sustainable transport, logistics, and financial channels protected from unlawful external pressure, deepening energy cooperation, and increasing collaboration in science and space technology,” the Ministry said.

Published – May 14, 2026 07:01 am IST

Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (South) Neena Malhotra poses for a group photograph during the BRICS MENA meeting, in New Delhi. Photo credit: @MEAIndia/X via PTI

U.S. President Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Rio de Janeiro:

Leaders of the countries known as BRICS will hold a summit in Rio de Janeiro in July, the current chair Brazil announced Saturday.

Other members of the trading bloc include Russia, India, China and South Africa and others.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said on the social media platform X that the summit will be held July 6-7 and feature leaders of 20 countries with full or associate status in the bloc.

At this meeting “we will make very important decisions for the development of all these countries, for cooperation and for improving the living conditions of all their inhabitants,” Vieira said.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on the BRICS countries if they undercut the US dollar.

At a BRICS summit in October in Russia, the member countries discussed boosting non-dollar transactions and strengthening local currencies.

The government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that under the Brazilian presidency the BRICS bloc will focus on strengthening cooperation with developing nations of the so-called Global South and on reforming multilateral institutions.

He said Brazil’s priorities for the bloc include “developing means of payment” to encourage trade and investment among member states.

Last month, Brazil’s chief negotiator for the BRICS group, Eduardo Saboia, told AFP there is no concrete plan to replace the dollar but rather talks on using local currencies in transactions.

The BRICS group has expanded significantly since its inception in 2009, and now includes countries such as Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Altogether the BRICS coalition accounts for a significant minority of the world’s economic output.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attended a BRICS leaders’ summit. File

Turkey was offered partner country status by the BRICS group of nations, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said, as Ankara continues what it calls its efforts to balance its Eastern and Western ties.

Turkey, a NATO member, has in recent months voiced interest in joining the BRICS group of emerging economies, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attended a BRICS leaders’ summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan last month, after Ankara said it had taken formal steps to become a member of the group.

“As for Turkey’s status regarding (BRICS) membership, they offered Turkey the status of partner membership,” Bolat said in an interview with private broadcaster TVNet on Wednesday (November 13, 2024).

“This [status] is the transition process in the organisational structure of BRICS,” he said.

Ankara sees the BRICS group as an opportunity to further economic cooperation with member states, rather than an alternative to its Western ties and N.A.T.O. membership, Mr. Erdogan has said.

Turkish officials have repeatedly said potential membership of BRICS would not affect Turkey’s responsibilities to the Western military alliance.

Aside from full membership, BRICS members introduced a “partner country” category in Kazan, according to the declaration issued by BRICS on Oct. 23.

Mr. Bolat did not say whether Ankara had accepted the proposal.

An official in Erdogan’s ruling AK Party told Reuters this month that while the proposal had been discussed in Kazan, partner country status would fall short of Turkey’s demands for membership.

Russian Ambassador to India, Denis Alipov addresses the media on the recently concluded BRICS Summit in Russia, in New Delhi on October 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The BRICS summit in Kazan has been a “total success”, said the Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov on Monday (October 28, 2024).

In an interaction with the media, the Russian envoy said the BRICS grouping represents “current realities” and pointed out that Indian banks are “over cautious” while dealing with Russian entities because of the threat of “secondary sanctions” from Western governments. He hit out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for criticising BRICS and described him as “delusional”.

“BRICS is not an exclusive but an inclusive platform. It is not anti-West or non-West formation. BRICS has become an indispensable framework for the emerging centres of power and keeps attracting more and more countries as a result of global turbulence and uncertainties,” said Ambassador Alipov informing that “more than forty countries have expressed interest in joining” BRICS.

Ambassador Alipov supported the prospects of BRICS and criticised Mr. Zelenskyy. Last week, President Zelenksyy had rejected UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Kyiv as he had participated in the BRICS meeting in Kazan.

After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Guterres had said, “We need peace in Ukraine. A just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions.” Mr. Zelenksy had described the Kazan summit as a “complete failure”.

During the briefing, Ambassador Alipov said, “The Ukrainian President has become completely delusional. He has very delusional views on many other accounts. But this is one of the topics on which he is absolutely wrong.”

Mr. Alipov’s briefing on the BRICS summit came days after the Kazan Declaration of the 16th BRICS summit gave out a detailed financial vision and held Israel responsible for the ongoing violence in Gaza Strip and Lebanon. He said the creation of a new category of partner-countries of BRICS is one of the major outcomes of the Kazan summit. “This step will definitely multiply the value of our diversified partnership and add to the forum’s global influence, which is now making a decisive contribution to the global food and energy security,” stated the Russian Ambassador explaining the impact of the new category of partner countries.

Ambassador Alipov presented the financial and commodities-related plans of the BRICS, and said the orgainsation plans to implement the Russian initiatives to create a grain trading platform within BRICS which will be known as the BRICS Grain Exchange. He mentioned the creation of an investment platform through strengthening the New Development Bank and study the feasibility of an electronic platform to settle cross-border trade in securities.

The envoy said that Indian banks are “over cautious” in dealing with Russia “over fears of western secondary sanctions” and said the sanctions could impact “Indian financial system’s engagement with Russia” and added, “We are hopeful, understanding among the Indian banking community will grow.”

“As like-minded countries, we will keep closely coordinating on various international issues on the UN, G20 and WTO agenda to create better conditions or the Global South to get an equal access to technological, financial and natural resources,” said Ambassador Alipov.

He touched upon the discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping and said Russia was not involved in facilitating the meeting and stated, “We had border issues with the Chinese. We managed to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution. No doubt India, China will be successful in (resolving) the border problems. It would require determination, open heart approach.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday (October 24, 2024) told leaders of BRICS emerging economies the world was facing “serious challenges” and urged the group to be a “stabilising force”.

Mr. Xi was speaking on the final day of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, a forum Moscow hopes will help forge a united front of nations against the West.

Addressing assembled leaders, Mr. Xi said the “common march of the global South towards modernity is a major event in world history”.

“We must be a stabilising force for peace, strengthen global security governance and explore solutions to hotspot issues that address both the symptoms and the root causes,” Mr. Xi said.

“The world still faces serious challenges to its peaceful development,” he warned.

He also called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the prevention of further conflict in Lebanon.

“We need to continue to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, relaunch the two-state solution and stop the spread of war in Lebanon,” Mr. Xi said.

“There should be no more suffering and destruction in Palestine and Lebanon,” he said.