Trump shadow looms large over Brics as Modi hosts Putin and Xi in Delhi

The US is not a member of Brics, yet President Donald Trump's shadow will loom large over the group's summit in Delhi this weekend.

Leaders from 11 Brics nations - including host India, China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, the UAE and Iran, with Saudi Arabia attending as an invited member - will hold talks on a wide range of issues. But few will be as consequential as the impact of President Trump's policies.

The war in Iran and the ever-present threat of White House tariffs, directed at both US adversaries and allies, have destabilised global energy markets and has often left the global economy guessing the future.

It is against this backdrop that Brics leaders are meeting. Yet the group is unlikely to produce a consensus statement that openly calls out the US or lays out a coordinated strategy to counter President Trump's policies and geopolitics.

That is partly because Brics itself is deeply divided over how far it should go in challenging Washington.

"India cannot afford to have a joint statement that rails against Washington," Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told the BBC. He expects any criticism of US policies to be "vague and indirect", reflecting the sharply divergent interests within the expanded group.

While Russia and Iran may push for the group to take a clearer stand against President Trump, the geopolitical realities within Brics are likely to make that difficult.

India, which is reportedly in the final stages of a trade deal with the US, will not want a statement that could upset the White House. China, too, may be wary of being seen as using Brics to target Washington.