After Vladimir Putin drew attention on the opening day of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Chinese President Xi Jinping took centre stage on Saturday. Yet some of the most significant moments of the day came when both leaders appeared alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Photographs from the summit showed Modi, Xi and Putin smiling and interacting together, including one image in which the Prime Minister stood between the two leaders holding their hands. The display of warmth came against the backdrop of unresolved tensions in India’s relationships with both China and Russia.

BRICS Leaders Condemn Pahalgam Terror Attack

The day was significant for India on several fronts. BRICS leaders issued a joint declaration condemning the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.

Modi also held talks with Xi on Indian soil for the first time since their 2019 summit in Mamallapuram.

The two leaders had met outside India in the intervening years, including in Kazan in 2024. However, Xi had not returned to India since the Galwan Valley clash.

India and China have since been working to stabilise bilateral relations, although their boundary dispute remains unresolved.

The meeting between Modi and Xi therefore marked another significant moment in efforts to improve engagement between the two countries while differences over the border continue to remain.

Putin’s Return To An Overseas BRICS Summit

Putin’s presence in New Delhi also carried particular significance.

It was his first in-person appearance at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.

The Russian president had last visited India in December 2025. He also met Modi earlier this month on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek.

India’s relationship with Russia has continued through the Ukraine war, even as New Delhi has strengthened its ties with the United States and other Western partners.

That wider diplomatic context added weight to the images of Modi standing with Putin and Xi at the BRICS Summit.

Images Reflect India’s Diplomatic Balancing Act

The photographs projected an easy familiarity between the three leaders, but they did not erase the complex issues shaping India’s relations with Beijing and Moscow.

The India-China boundary dispute remains unresolved despite efforts by the two countries to stabilise ties. At the same time, New Delhi has maintained its relationship with Moscow throughout the Ukraine war while continuing to deepen partnerships with the United States and the West.

The public display of warmth instead reflected a willingness to maintain engagement despite those differences.

For Modi, the moments captured the balancing act at the centre of India’s foreign policy. New Delhi has sought to preserve close ties with Russia, repair relations with China after the Galwan clash and simultaneously expand its partnerships with the United States and Western countries.

India has maintained that it is not passively neutral in these conflicts but supports peace and dialogue, while resisting pressure to align itself with any single geopolitical camp.

Modi’s engagement with Xi and Putin at the summit reflected that approach, with visible warmth towards both leaders without allowing either relationship to define India’s position towards the other.

The images from New Delhi ultimately highlighted the diplomatic space India is seeking to preserve: maintaining engagement with major powers even as significant differences with both China and Russia remain unresolved.

Long or Short, get news the way you like. No ads. No redirections. Download Newspin and Stay Alert, The CSR Journal Mobile app, for fast, crisp, clean updates!

App Store –  https://apps.apple.com/in/app/newspin/id6746449540 

Google Play Store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inventifweb.newspin&pcampaignid=web_share