Diplomatic Farewell: Russian President Vladimir Putin Departs New Delhi After Landmark BRICS Summit 2026

NEW DELHI: Following the successful conclusion of the high-profile 18th BRICS Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially departed from the national capital on Sunday afternoon.The Russian premier was given a warm ceremonial send-off at the Palam Military Airforce Station before boarding his special presidential aircraft back to Moscow.

The Russian premier was given a warm ceremonial send-off at the Palam Military Airforce Station before boarding his special presidential aircraft back to Moscow.

The departure was marked by a highly publicized and warm moment of personal camaraderie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin. Visuals emerging from the tarmac showed the two leaders exchanging a firm embrace and sharing prolonged handshakes, signaling a deep strategic trust and reinforcing the resilience of the bilateral India-Russia partnership.

The symbolic farewell caps off two days of intense closed-door and open-session multilateral negotiations at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam venue. Under India’s 2026 chairship, the summit achieved a historic breakthrough earlier on Saturday when all 11 full member states—including geopolitical rivals—unanimously adopted the ‘New Delhi Declaration 2026’.

Prior to his departure, President Putin held a crucial bilateral meeting with PM Modi on the sidelines of the closing sessions. Diplomatic sources indicate that the leaders aligned their focus on expanding local currency trade settlements, securing uninhibited energy corridors, and developing joint digital logistics networks to support the expansion of the Global South.

Following Putin’s departure, Chinese President Xi Jinping is also scheduled to leave the Indian capital, wrapping up one of the most successful international diplomatic gatherings hosted by New Delhi in recent history.