World Affairs
BRICS declaration urges Middle East restraint and rejects unilateral sanctions
The statement marked a consensus among a bloc that includes Iran and the United Arab Emirates after ministers failed to agree on the conflict in May.
Executive summary
- The declaration: BRICS leaders unanimously adopted a New Delhi declaration urging maximum restraint in the Middle East and opposing sanctions not authorized by the U.N. Security Council.[1][2][3]
- The consensus: The agreement brought together a bloc that includes Iran and the United Arab Emirates after BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on the Iran conflict in May.[2][3]
- Nuclear safety: The leaders expressed concern over attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under international safeguards and called for nuclear safety during armed conflict.[1][3]
- The wider agenda: The statement also backed a larger role for developing countries in global institutions as India said BRICS should act as a rule-shaper rather than an anti-Western bloc.[1][3]
BRICS leaders unanimously adopted a declaration in New Delhi calling for maximum restraint in the Middle East and opposing sanctions not authorized by the U.N. Security Council, according to the joint text and separate reporting from Reuters and The Associated Press.[1][2][3]
The declaration did not name the United States, Israel or any other country. It called for avoiding actions that could further escalate the conflict and for a multilateral approach that respects the stated positions of BRICS members.[1][2][3]
Consensus was notable because the expanded bloc includes both Iran and the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. partner. BRICS foreign ministers had failed to agree on a joint statement about the Iran war in May, leaving India to issue a chair's summary instead.[2][3]
The leaders expressed serious concern over attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. They said nuclear safety and security must be protected during armed conflicts.[1][3]
The statement also rejected unilateral coercive measures that BRICS members view as contrary to international law, including sanctions imposed without U.N. Security Council authorization. It called for eliminating measures that undermine the U.N. Charter while also criticizing tariff and non-tariff actions that distort trade.[1][2][3]
BRICS has expanded to 11 members and represents about half the world's population, AP reported. The group used the New Delhi declaration to press for reforms to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and other global institutions that it says should give developing countries greater representation.[1][3]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said BRICS was not directed against any country and argued that the Global South should become a rule-shaper in global governance. The declaration's unanimous adoption demonstrated a shared public position, but it did not erase the members' competing alliances or national interests in the Middle East and elsewhere.[3][2]