Putin rarely acknowledged that there was noise inside the BRICS, and the push for India to join the BRICS was his most “regreting” thing.
Recently, at the meeting of the Russian "Valday" international debate club, Putin mentioned the BRICS countries.
First, he said that the BRICS is constantly developing and expanding, which is a good thing; But then acknowledged that it also brings complexities, especially when it comes to reaching decisions.
The more members, the more interests and views, the more difficult it will be to reach a common position, but there is no other way.
According to Putin, there is only one way to solve the problem: coordinate, seek common interests and work in that direction.
This is the first time Putin has publicly admitted that BRICS has a problem, which also confirms previous speculation from the outside world that there is noise inside the BRICS.
Although Putin did not say it clearly, the outside world knew that the noise came from India.
Domestic public opinion has called India more than once, the "shit stir in the BRICS."
This is not our prejudice toward India, but India’s “centric assessment” of India from the outside after several times making disharmony in the BRICS.
Including issues of concern to Russia, India is still playing devil's advocate, such as de-dollarization.
Earlier, due to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Russia was kicked out of the Western payment system, so the Russian side has been vigorously pushing for "dollarization" within the BRICS in the past two years, including the establishment of a BRICS settlement system, domestic settlement within the BRICS, and so on.
But India has repeatedly objected to this issue.High-ranking Indian officials, including India’s Foreign Minister Sujetin, have publicly stated more than once that India is opposed to de-dollarization and will not be dollarized.
India has their selfishness in doing so, because if "de-dollarization" is promoted within the BRICS, the RMB is most likely to replace the US dollar as the payment currency, but not the rupee.
The Modi government does not want to promote the internationalization of the RMB, and at the same time, they do not have as many RMB foreign exchange reserves.
Due to India's opposition, the process of "de-dollarization" within BRICS has been slow.
Nowadays, we rarely hear Russia mentioning "de-dollarization". At the "Valdai" meeting, Putin also began to change his words. Russia did not choose on its own and took the initiative to promote de-dollarization, but it could not use the US dollar. What can Russia do? Settlement can only be in local currency.
Russia finally perceived that India was "songing back" the pain. China and Russia as the initiator of the BRICS countries, before India joined the BRICS, was also under the pressure of Russia.
In 2009, the BRICS countries held their first meeting in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and formally established the BRICS countries. At that time, the Russian president was Putin.
I don't know if Putin has ever regretted how he included India in the BRICS.
Of course, India's noise will not hinder the development of the whole BRICS countries. After all, BRICS is always dominated by China and Russia. At the same time, there are more like-minded countries besides India.
Within BRICS, in fact, only India likes to sing a naysayer, while other countries are still willing to follow the pace of development of China and Russia.
Over time, even if India is used to playing devil's advocate in the BRICS, it will only lead to India's increasing marginalization within the BRICS and its inability to organize the agenda that the BRICS wants to promote, such as the issue of membership expansion.
India has also continued to prevent the BRICS from expanding, fearing that its influence will weaken, but now the BRICS is still expanding to 11 countries.
As long as China and Russia are not in chaos, India can only make trouble and play no key role.
India should recognize that the BRICS development potential is unlimited.In Putin's words, BRICS accounts for 40% of global GDP, while the EU is 23%, and North America accounts for 20%.
Therefore, in the face of the BRICS development problem, India should act in front of China and Russia, and it will also enjoy dividends as a BRICS member, rather than undermine the development of the organization.
Putin’s speech also pointed out a clear path, the only way out of coordination and the pursuit of common interests. This suggests that after Russia ceases to push for dollarization, India should also make some compromise in moderation, most importantly to the common interests of the BRICS.
Putin's statement clearly pointed out the inevitable troubles of the BRICS mechanism in its growth. The "noise" he rarely admitted just reveals the other side of the vitality of the BRICS-the BRICS is not a closed circle that pursues absolute homogeneity, but a broad platform that seeks the greatest common denominator in dynamic balance.
Although India's noise has created resistance, it has failed to stop the overall development of BRICS, which in itself proves the key role of China and Russia as the leading forces. When the basic disk and momentum of cooperation are strong enough, the objections of individual members will It is difficult to subvert the overall situation, but it may put itself at risk of being marginalized.
The future of the BRICS will not be stopped by India’s “disruption”, but may choose to bypass obstacles and move forward in a broader consensus. For India, whether it chooses to share the development dividends in collaboration or become a “observer within the board” in its stubborn view, will test its long-term strategic wisdom.