New Delhi, 12 September— A Consensus over a joint declaration that condemns unilateral war by any country arrived after hard and patient work by diplomats under India’s leadership and mutual resolve of the BRICS member countries to strengthen the groups’ global standing at 4 a m today morning will prove to be major milestone in the 20 years history of its existence.
BRICS members broke a difficult deadlock over a joint statement after hard negotiations, securing consensus despite competing positions within the expanded grouping over the US-Israel wat on Iran and ongoing Russian-Ukraine military conflict.
India led consultations aimed at narrowing the differences between members, according to information available on the negotiations. The joint statement is expected to be issued during the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday.
The agreement comes as geopolitical differences test the grouping’s ability to arrive at common positions. Iran and the UAE, which hold opposing positions in the ongoing Gulf conflict, are both members of BRICS.
The summit, hoping to bridge divisions between members Iran and the United Arab Emirates over the Gulf conflict, is being held as the United States and Iran resume tit-for-tat strikes in their six-month-old war.
That followed a pause in fighting for much of August, while the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen tightened their grip in the Red Sea region.
Negotiators had agreed on a joint declaration unlikely to name any country but which will condemn unilateral war by any country, according to diplomatic sources.
While the Ministry of External Affairs is yet to confirm the consensus arrived over the joint declaration, but sources said that deal has already been struck.
Foreign policy experts were sceptical about the consensus saying that the key test for the bloc would be finding language on the West Asian crisis that both Abu Dhabi and Tehran could accept, clearing the way for a joint declaration, but global situation and US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable approach to international system forced the group members to adopt a realistic stand.
Though such a joint statement was unlikely to influence the current geopolitical landscape, but would demonstrate unity by a grouping of emerging nations against economically debilitating policies such as Western sanctions.
Earlier, BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi in May were unable to issue a joint statement, stymied by differences between Iran and the UAE.
The BRICS bloc is seeking to raise its profile by influencing international rules and demanding the reform of institutions such as the World Bank, IMF and WTO, which some members view as being dominated by Western powers.
Leaders attending the summit are Russian President Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, among others.
New Delhi, which has strong ties with the United States, Russia, Israel, Iran and the Gulf Arab states is engaged in a diplomatic balancing act, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushing BRICS members to boost trade cooperation, reduce barriers, and expand business opportunities.
The need to bridge the Iran-UAE divide over the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and produce a consensus summit declaration, however, has been an immediate concern for BRICS diplomats and officials.
UAE, after being hit by Iranian missiles since the war began, suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran in August.
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