BRICS Summit in India: Nicolas Blarel Evokes Image of 'American Trojan Horse'

India is hosting the BRICS summit on September 12-13, with the announced attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, RFI reports. This meeting comes amid geopolitical turbulence and a weakening of India's international standing, according to the media outlet.

In an interview with RFI, Nicolas Blarel, professor at Leiden University, discusses the stakes of this summit as well as the image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, host of the event, which the French radio describes as tarnished.

According to RFI's reporting, some BRICS partners perceive India as an "American Trojan horse" within the group, a position reflecting the ambiguities of Indian diplomacy, torn between its relations with Washington and its membership in this bloc comprising notably Russia and China.

The interview, published by RFI, also highlights the difficulties Narendra Modi faces in asserting New Delhi's role within the BRICS, in an international context marked by heightened tensions between major powers.

This summit thus serves as a test for Indian diplomacy, called upon to reconcile its strategic interests with the diverging expectations of its partners within the organization, according to Nicolas Blarel's analysis as relayed by RFI.