Punjab, Sept. 12 -- The 18th BRICS Summit opens in New Delhi today, with India in the chair. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin landed on Friday for a three-day visit, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also in the capital.
The bilateral sequence
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Putin and Pezeshkian on Friday. The meeting with Xi follows on Saturday, and it is the one being watched most closely.
Bilateral scheduling at a summit is not administrative detail. Hosting three leaders whose countries hold very different positions on the war between the United States and Iran, and meeting each separately, is the actual diplomatic work. The plenary produces a communique; the sid...