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BRICS declaration urges maximum restraint
September 13, 2026
BRICS members adopted a joint declaration urging maximum restraint over escalating Middle East tensions, as host Narendra Modi pushed the bloc to deepen trade cooperation.
BRICS is a bloc of emerging economies founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and it later expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE, with members pressing for reform of global institutions.
Key facts
- Opening the meeting as host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the grouping had matured and that its shared positions should now be turned into tangible outcomes internationally.
- The joint declaration issued by BRICS read: "We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia ... call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation."
- Iran's embassy in India put out a photograph of its president sitting with Sheikh Khaled, the crown prince in Abu Dhabi, who is the oldest son of that country's president and his designated successor.
- India maintains close relations with Washington, Moscow, Israel, Tehran and the Gulf Arab states at once, a balancing act it is managing while Modi presses fellow BRICS members to deepen trade ties, lower barriers and open up more commercial opportunities.
CNBC reports Modi's opening argument to the members of BRICS, the bloc of emerging economies that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa founded: the grouping has matured, and its agreement among themselves should now show up as results the rest of the world can measure. The same account lays out the declaration the members signed. It registers alarm at how far tensions have worsened in the Middle East and West Asia, asks every party to hold back as far as possible, and warns against any step that would make things worse. It also asks that civilians be shielded, that the sovereignty and borders of states be respected, and that trade, supply chains, energy flows and shipping lanes be kept secure.
Reuters reports the same declaration and the same appeal for restraint. Al Jazeera sets out what the summit produced. The Associated Press carries Modi's warning about geopolitical tension and supply chain shocks putting global stability at risk. Four outlets land on the same ground: the restraint language, New Delhi's careful positioning among Washington, Moscow, Israel, Tehran and the Gulf Arab states, Chinese President Xi telling members to push the international order toward greater equity and justice, and the bloc's demand that the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization be reformed. The material is widely carried and reads as wire or release fed.
Settled, then, are the declaration's contents, what Modi and Xi each said, and the membership, which started with five countries and has since taken in Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE. Thinner is the diplomacy around the edges of the summit. CNBC reports a photo put out by Iran's embassy in India showing its president alongside the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, with no account of what the two men said to each other. Sunjay Sudhir, who represented India in the UAE as its ambassador, told Reuters that ending the war rests with Washington and Israel.
Sunjay Sudhir, who previously served as India's ambassador to the UAE, told Reuters: "The key to ending the war lies with the U.S. and Israel."
Still developing
The record holds nothing unresolved on the sidelines meeting between the Iranian president and the Abu Dhabi crown prince at the time of draft, and no account offers a different figure or framing.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- CNBC — Iran and UAE back joint BRICS statement urging restraint in war
- apnews.com — At BRICS, India's Modi warns geopolitical tensions and supply chain shocks threaten global stability
- aljazeera.com — BRICS summit 2026: What are the key takeaways?