BRICS in the era of war: Can the bloc really do something for peace?

India is hosting the BRICS Summit 2026 in New Delhi on September 12-13. The summit comes at a time when two major wars are hurting the global economy and foreign policy.

Russia and Iran, both directly involved in the two different conflicts, are among the BRICS members attending the summit. But can BRICS, a grouping of 11 countries, play a role in efforts to end the wars?

Happymon Jacob, director of the Council for Strategic and Defence Research, does not think the grouping has enough influence to bring either war to an end.

"I don't think so. I don't think BRICS has that level of influence with any of these countries," Jacob told Business Today Digital. "I don't think BRICS can influence Russia to stop the war or get into negotiations with Ukraine. I don't think they can influence Iran to sort of get into a negotiation with the United States."

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The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on since February 2022, while the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28, 2026.

Jacob said the two conflicts are ultimately being driven by major powers, limiting what other BRICS countries can achieve.

"These two wars, the Iran-US war and the Ukraine-Russia war, are in some ways being conducted by great powers themselves, the United States and Russia. And they will have to take the call. None of the others, including China, may be in a position to influence the outcomes of that war or the process of that later on BRICS as an institution," he said.

BRICS has a stake in peace

Former Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria offered a different argument: even if BRICS cannot directly end the wars, the bloc has a strong economic interest in seeing them end. He said the conflicts are affecting the global economy through trade disruptions and sanctions.

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"It is a world where economics has been weaponised. Trade has been weaponised and therefore whimsical sanctions that are switched on and off are a reality - and many of the BRICS countries are facing it," he said while speaking at the India Today BRICS Roundtable.

India is also positioning itself as a voice of the Global South, Bisaria said. The Summit's special invitees include BIMEC, ASEAN, and the African Union, bringing representation from a wider group of developing countries.

"All these countries are huge stakeholders in the state of the global economy. The global economy is afflicted by two active conflicts. Therefore, all of us and all BRICS countries are stakeholders in this conflict," the former high commissioner said. "It is not just an esoteric geopolitical paragraph to put in, but it is something that affects them. In today's headlines, Brent crude has crossed the $100 mark. The rupee has fallen below 9 to a dollar. So all this affects us in a very immediate kind of way."

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BRICS should, therefore, the former diplomat added, use its collective voice to call for an end to both conflicts. "The BRICS message ought to be very strong about ending these two conflicts, notwithstanding the fact that one of the parties to each conflict will be sitting as a member. Therefore, amplify this message that the conflicts affect the global economy. Sanctions arising out of these conflicts affect the global economy. And therefore we want to see the end of this."

India has consistently maintained that the answer to conflicts cannot come from the battlefield. During his last visit to Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated India's position that "this is not an era of war, and that solutions will not emerge from the battlefield."

"If India can be of any help, in any manner, we are there," Jaishankar said alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.