Mon 28 August 2023:
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will skip the Group of 20 (G20) summit in India next month and will send his foreign minister instead, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office has said.
Modi’s office said he spoke to Putin by telephone, “expressing an understanding” for his decision not to attend the summit.
“PM [Prime Minister Modi] thanked President Putin for Russia’s consistent support to all initiatives under India’s G20 Presidency,” the Indian government said.
India has not condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and has increased its purchases of Russian oil during the 18-month war.
“President Putin conveyed his inability to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September and informed that Russia would be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov,” the Indian external affairs ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Modi expressed “an understanding for Russia’s decision” and thanked Putin for Russia’s consistent support of all initiatives under India’s G20 Presidency.
The two leaders reviewed progress on several issues of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern, including the recently concluded BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.
The Kremlin said on Friday that Putin would not travel to attend the G20 summit in India.
The New Delhi summit will be the second G20 summit in a row that Putin will miss.
He skipped last year’s summit in the Indonesian resort of Bali, where Foreign Minister Lavrov represented Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
India announced that it had not invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the G20 summit.
Last year, Zelenskyy sent a video message to the leaders of 20 emerging economies in Bali.
He called it the “G19” because of Russia’s absence.
Several world leaders have confirmed their participation for the summit of the group of the most developed and emerging countries, including United States President Joe Biden.
The war in Ukraine, food and energy insecurity, and climate change are some important issues that will dominate the G20 summit in the Indian capital.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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