The BRICS Summit puts India\u2019s strategic autonomy to the test as New Delhi balances close ties with Russia against its Western partnerships<\/p>\n
The 18th BRICS Summit, opening in New Delhi on Friday, will test not only the geopolitical resilience of the largest grouping in the non-Western world, but also the maturity of Indian diplomacy.
\nIndia has set itself an extraordinarily difficult task of trying to pour the oil of reconciliation onto the increasingly stormy waters of world politics.
\nThe theme of its 2026 BRICS presidency, \u201cBuilding for Sustainability, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainable Development,\u201d might sound hopelessly optimistic as the Ukraine conflict and sanctions against Russia continue, the US and Iran remain locked in confrontation, Western pressure on China is growing, Africa and Latin America face what BRICS countries regard as neo-colonial practices, and while trade and technology wars are multiplying.
\nAgainst such a background, talk of innovation and sustainable development can seem detached from reality, yet this is precisely where India sees a role for itself; as divisions between rival centers of power deepen, New Delhi is attempting the diplomatic equivalent of walking a tightrope. It believes its longstanding principle of \u201cstrategic autonomy\u201d will allow it not merely to keep its balance, but to make a wider contribution to international stability.
\nThat approach is central to understanding India\u2019s BRICS presidency, given that among the BRICS states, India occupies a unique position. It maintains strategic partnerships with the United States and Western European countries whose policies increasingly seek to contain Russia and China, while, at the same time, New Delhi has refused Western demands to distance itself from Moscow.<\/p>\n
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India consequently doesn\u2019t regard BRICS as an anti-Western alliance. For sure it sees the grouping as non-Western, but not inherently antagonistic towards the West, and this leaves New Delhi caught between two fires.
\nSome within BRICS may accuse India of being insufficiently willing to confront the West, while Western governments repeatedly criticize India for maintaining close relations with Russia, often invoking its status as the world\u2019s largest democracy.
\nShortly before the summit, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar offered a characteristically pointed defense of this strategic autonomy at an international forum in Finland.
\nAsked by a British moderator whether cooperation with Russia was immoral, Jaishankar replied that no European country had ever been attacked with Indian weapons, while European weapons had been used against India.
\nThe exchange neatly captured New Delhi\u2019s position as India has no intention of allowing either side to dictate its foreign policy.
\nBeing caught between two fires is rarely comfortable, but India\u2019s strategy isn\u2019t simply to avoid getting burnt; instead, it intends to draw warmth from both while retaining the freedom to choose its own course.
\nThat is both the risk and the ambition behind India\u2019s BRICS presidency.<\/p>\n
This article was first published by\u00a0Kommersant, and was translated and edited by the RT team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The BRICS Summit puts India\u2019s strategic autonomy to the test as New Delhi balances close ties with Russia against its Western partnerships The 18th BRICS Summit, opening in New Delhi…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t