India on Saturday said the involvement of three BRICS members in the ongoing conflict in West Asia had made forging a consensus within the grouping on the situation in the region difficult.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been targeted by Iran as part of its retaliatory strikes against the US and Israel, making a consensus within BRICS a tough ask at this juncture.
India’s disclosure of some details about discussions within BRICS on the conflict comes two days after Iran went public with its demand that the grouping should play a constructive role in supporting regional and global stability and security. India currently chairs BRICS.
Asked about the likelihood of a statement from BRICS on the situation, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: "Some members of the BRICS are directly involved in the current situation in the West Asia region, which has impacted forging a consensus on a common BRICS position on the ongoing conflict.
"As Chair of BRICS, India has been facilitating discussions among members through the Sherpa channel. The last virtual BRICS Sherpa meeting was held on March 12. In addition, the Indian leadership has been engaging with leaders of BRICS members in the region. India will continue to engage."
During two conversations between Iran and India — one at the leadership level between the Indian Prime Minister and the Iranian President, and the second between the foreign ministers — Tehran had stressed the need for BRICS to "play a constructive role at the current juncture in supporting regional and global stability and security", and also "condemn the military aggression against Iran".
Jaiswal also confirmed that the non-essential crew of the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Lavan — which was allowed to dock in Kochi last week after it developed technical problems on its way back from the international fleet review hosted by the Indian Navy — had been flown out of the country on an Iranian chartered flight on Friday along with other Iranians stranded in India owing to widespread flight disruptions.
Araghchi oil jab
Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi took a swipe at the US for now asking India to buy Russian oil after bullying New Delhi for months into ending oil imports from Russia.
Commenting on a newspaper article on the US now allowing all countries to buy oil from Russia, Araghchi, in a post on X, said: "The US spent months on bullying India into ending oil imports from Russia. After two weeks of war with Iran, White House is now begging the world — incl India — to buy Russian crude. Europe thought backing illegal war on Iran would win US support against Russia. Pathetic."