Kremlin Says Modi and Xi Are Willing to Support a Ukraine Settlement
Key Takeaways
- •Modi told Putin that India was prepared to support Ukraine peace efforts through dialogue and diplomacy.
- •Putin has continued to make addressing NATO enlargement a condition for a potential peace framework, which Western countries reject.
- •India and China have avoided Western sanctions on Russia while maintaining strategic and economic relationships with Moscow.
- •The summit produced expressions of diplomatic readiness but no new, detailed proposal for resolving the war.
- •India’s role was also shaped by its energy and defense ties with Russia, US tariffs affecting India and China, and concerns about Indian seafarers in the Black Sea.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin publicly welcomed offers from two of the world’s most powerful leaders to help broker peace in Ukraine, turning the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi into a stage for high-profile diplomatic signaling over a conflict now entering its fifth year.
Putin praised the willingness of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping to support a negotiated settlement during the summit, held September 11-12, 2026. Modi said India was ready to assist peace efforts through dialogue and diplomacy, while Xi’s participation reinforced Beijing’s position as a potential intermediary.
What happened in New Delhi
Modi met with Putin on September 11. During that meeting, he raised India’s interest in helping pursue a settlement in Ukraine, alongside a more immediate concern: the safety of Indian seafarers operating in the Black Sea.
The following day, Modi met with Xi. That discussion took a different direction, focusing on the two countries’ longstanding boundary dispute rather than Ukraine. The leaders emphasized the need for what they described as a “fair and reasonable” resolution to tensions along their border.
Putin has previously praised mediation efforts by Asian powers at multilateral forums. At earlier summits, he has consistently linked any potential peace framework to what he describes as the need to address NATO enlargement. Western capitals regard that condition as a nonstarter.
The BRICS balancing act
India and China occupy an unusual position in the Ukraine conflict. Neither country has joined the Western sanctions regime against Russia, and both maintain strong strategic and economic ties with Moscow. At the same time, both have called for a negotiated end to the fighting.
For Modi, the BRICS summit provided an opportunity to project India’s role as a peace facilitator on the global stage. New Delhi has become increasingly vocal about that role since the conflict began in February 2022.
India’s diplomacy also reflects its own interests. The country imports significant quantities of Russian energy and defense equipment. The summit took place against the backdrop of US tariffs affecting both India and China.
Limits of the diplomatic signals
The absence of concrete new proposals is significant. A willingness to engage without an established framework represents a statement of intent rather than a detailed plan. India and China’s expressions of readiness to help therefore did not amount to a new settlement proposal.
Putin’s repeated insistence that NATO enlargement be addressed in any peace agreement sets a high bar for negotiations. Ukraine and its Western backers have shown no willingness to make concessions on sovereignty or alliance membership as preconditions for talks. The significance of the New Delhi signals will therefore depend on whether either government later sets out a specific framework that can address those unresolved differences.
