New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to visit India in September to attend the 2026 BRICS Summit in New Delhi, according to an Indian Express report. The summit is expected to be held on September 12 and 13, with India hosting the annual meeting as the current chair of the BRICS grouping.
The report said both Moscow and Beijing have conveyed to New Delhi that their leaders are expected to participate in the summit, although Xi’s visit is yet to receive a formal confirmation. Putin’s participation, however, has
been confirmed by Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and reported by Russian state media agency TASS.
If Xi attends, it would mark his first visit to India since October 2019, when he held an informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu. Bilateral ties between India and China had deteriorated sharply following the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020 and subsequent border tensions.
The possible participation of both Xi and Putin is being viewed as diplomatically significant amid evolving geopolitical alignments and efforts by BRICS nations to strengthen cooperation on economic and strategic issues. India is expected to host leaders from all BRICS member nations during the summit in the national capital.
Xi’s participation is being seen as one of the most anticipated aspects of the summit, especially in the backdrop of efforts by New Delhi and Beijing to stabilise relations after years of military standoff along the Line of Actual Control.