DC Edit | Modi-Xi handshake sends a strong message of peace

Briefly ignoring the hand that Mr Modi was just extending to shepherd him to a place in the spotlight with the flags in the background, Mr Xi then offered his hand for the ceremonial handshake that was sealed with a broad smile from the Chinese President as he looked down from the advantage he holds of a few inches in height.

The message they wished to convey in their first bilateral meeting in five years since President Xi journeyed to the beach town of Mahabalipuram near Chennai in 2019 is clear. China and India are really trying to mend ties. All the cynicism around it, given the history of mistrust and suspicion, was not going to come in the way of two leaders seeking a new path amid increasingly complex global geopolitics.

The Kazan meeting in one of Russia’s largest and wealthiest cities was a milestone moment that could become historic if it leads on to a betterment of ties between the world’s two most populous nations whose three billion people could be somewhat better off for the peace it could bring if indeed there is a restoration of tranquillity on the LAC.

The optics of the meetings among leaders may have tended to overshadow the BRICS summit of leaders representing 40 per cent of the world’s population. The ambience of comfort as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and India’s Modi laughed over the state of India-Russia ties amid their own easy relationship and there being no need for translation of Russian words was notable.

Given the prominence of the host Vladimir Putin sitting between Mr Modi and Mr Xi throughout the summit, it does appear the Russian President played a role in bringing about this rapprochement between India and China even as he admitted to being comfortable enough with Mr Modi often bringing up the Ukraine question and recommending dialogue and diplomacy to end the war, as the Indian PM has maintained over the last two-and-a-half years.

The value of peace has been never more stressed in recent times than now when two wars are raging in Europe and in the Middle East. In stressing on how much peace might mean for both countries, Mr Modi may have sounded a bit more anxious than Mr Xi speaking about the need for cooperation after their 21st meeting in the last 10 years, but the first meaningful one with a full delegation in support after several years.

For Mr Putin, basking in this role as host bringing together nations from mostly the Global South, the greater meaning of BRICS in a multipolar world and lofty ideas of managing money flows in a dollar-dominated world might have meant less than showing to the US and the West that he is not without support despite Russia’s clear expansionism in Ukrainian territory. He has used the summit as adroitly as China and India did in forging their own road map to address mutual concerns.