Russian President Vladimir Putin has informed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will not be participating in the upcoming G20 Summit scheduled to take place in Delhi next month. The summit, hosted by India, is slated for September 9-10, BBC reports.
Putin personally contacted Modi to convey that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would represent him at the summit. The leaders also engaged in discussions concerning a range of "regional and global matters of shared interest," as outlined in an official statement by India.
A spokesperson from the Russian government had previously stated that Putin's absence from the summit was due to his "hectic schedule."
The G20 encompasses the world's 19 most affluent countries along with the European Union. India currently holds the rotating G20 presidency, which switches annually among member nations.
The Delhi summit is expected to address Russia's incursion into Ukraine, with world leaders such as US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in attendance. Recently, Putin participated in the BRICS summit, conducted via video link, to avoid potential arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Putin, alleging war crimes related to Ukraine.
India's official statement on the matter indicated that Modi acknowledged and respected Russia's decision, expressing gratitude to Putin for supporting India's initiatives during its G20 presidency. Russia's statement did not explicitly mention Putin's absence from the G20 summit but did underscore the nations' plans to "engage closely in the context of Russia's BRICS chairmanship" commencing on January 1 of the next year.
The statement further highlighted that the discussion encompassed current aspects of Russian-Indian relations, characterized by a steadily evolving privileged strategic partnership.
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