August 29, 2023
NEW DELHI – Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and conveyed his inability to attend the upcoming G20 Summit which will be held in Delhi from 9 to 10 September under India’s Presidency. According to an official statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Putin told PM Modi that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be Russia’s representative at the G20 Summit.
During the conversation, PM Modi and Putin also discussed issues of bilateral interest. The two leaders also exchanged views on global issues, including the recently concluded BRICS Summit. Prime Minister Modi, the PMO statement said, thanked the Russian President for his country’s support to all the initiatives under India’s G20 presidency.
“The two leaders reviewed progress on number of issues of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern, including the recently concluded BRICS Summit in Johannesburg,” the PMO statement read.
“President Putin conveyed his inability to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September 2023 and informed that Russia would be represented by Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov,” it added.
There were speculations that Putin would not travel to India for the G20 Summit in view of an arrest warrant issued against him by The International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC has accused Putin of war crimes during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian President had not attended the BRICS Summit in South Africa either. There were also rumours about his health condition but they were later dismissed by the Kremlin.
The Delhi G20 Summit will be attended by several top leaders of the world, including US President Joe Biden, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and French President Emmanuel Macron. The UK’s Indian-origin PM Rishi Sunak will also visit Delhi to attend the G20 Summit.