Despite Chinese leader Xi Jinping's requests for Brics to take on a leading role in peace in the Middle East, the group made up of Brazil and other countries adopted this Saturday (12) a merely generic resolution regarding peace in the conflicted region.
The final text of the group's 18th annual meeting, held in New Delhi (India), stated that its members express "deep concern" about the conflict, calling for "maximum restraint" from those involved and "a multilateral approach" for peace.
No word about the belligerents: the United States, Israel and Iran, nor about the other 13 countries in the region affected by the war started by Donald Trump on February 28 and still unconcluded.
One of the reasons was the presence of two of them at the table: Iran and the United Arab Emirates, the main target of Tehran's retaliation against American allies in the Persian Gulf. In this sense, the existence of a unanimous declaration even without signatures was a victory for the host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also met Emirati envoy Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed on the sidelines of the summit.
The Indian Prime Minister was also able to show a new photograph with the Russian Vladimir Putin and Xi, all holding hands, repeating the dose of the meeting between the three in September 2025 at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, in China.
At that moment, the image symbolized the trio's defiance of US policies under Trump. Now, each country has had its own approach towards Americans, based on their interests.
The text also repeated criticisms previously made by Brics regarding unilateral sanctions, a bow to the group's founder Russia, punished in the West for the War in Ukraine, and the tariff wars that mark the second Trump administration. No names mentioned.
The non-specific tone reflects the internal discrepancies of the Brics, which began in 2009 with 4 members and reached 2026 with 10, 5 of them integrated into the great expansion promoted by Xi in 2023 to try to raise the organization's international status.
In practice, the differences became more explicit. In fact, after a new expansion in 2024 in Russia was not agreed, the 2025 meeting in Brazil was canceled. In this Indian edition, it was Lula's (PT) turn not to appear, in this case because of the electoral campaign.
Even when questioning Western hegemony, the primary function of Brics, there is no agreement. India, for example, does not want to see rival China become the polar opposite to the US in the ongoing Cold War 2.0, and has good relations with both Washington and Moscow.
At this summit, the highlight was precisely Xi's presence in India for the first time in seven years.
He had already met with Modi before, but the prime minister has been working to build a network of allies in the Indo-Pacific who could, in theory, threaten Chinese trade routes if tensions escalate.
The two nuclear-armed countries have had border skirmishes in recent years, and Xi's visit serves to reduce such tensions. In the meeting with Modi, he asked both countries to join forces to promote global strategic stability.
In addition to the Indian issue, the Chinese leader also sought to advance his presumed dominance in the BRICS in a speech this Saturday. In it, he urged the group to become a mediator in the wars in the Middle East, a role he in practice wants for China.
Last week, Xi was in Egypt and declared support for the military pact between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan. The union is an unprecedented result of Iran's aggressiveness, lack of confidence in US support and fear of the growth of Israel's power.
In the end, the Chinese spoke for himself, judging by the tone of the final statement. But the message was given.
