Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend an 11-member BRICS summit, with the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine expected to dominate the agenda alongside economic challenges.

The summit brings together leaders from major emerging economies, originally Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which was formed in 2009 to seek greater influence in global institutions. BRICS has since expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also expected to meet with Modi on the sidelines of the two-day meeting. Putin's arrival was marked by posters of Modi across the city and heavy security deployments.

The inclusion of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, countries with differing stances on the US-Israel war in Iran, presents a significant challenge for the bloc's cohesion. "The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit," Harsh V Pant of India’s Observer Research Foundation told AFP.

This gathering is particularly notable for President Pezeshkian, marking his first visit to India as president and placing the Middle East conflict directly on the summit's agenda. "The war in Iran will provide a stern test of the (expanded) group’s cohesion," Shilan Shah of Capital Economics told AFP, referencing the foreign ministers' inability to agree on a joint statement in May.

India aims to maintain a delicate balance in its foreign policy, holding cordial relations with both Iran and Israel while also nurturing its ties with Washington. The nation has managed the energy crisis stemming from the war on Iran by increasing its reliance on Russia, a key strategic partner and a significant fuel supplier.

The expansion of BRICS, once seen as an achievement, now appears to be a constraint due to the divergent geopolitical interests of its new members. The summit's discussions are anticipated to reflect the complex global landscape and the challenges faced by the bloc in navigating these conflicts and economic pressures.

Unresolved questions remain regarding the extent to which BRICS can achieve consensus on these critical international issues and whether the expanded membership will strengthen or fragment the group's influence on the global stage.