Metropolis Desk-
Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, has been informed by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will not be attending the G20 Summit in Delhi next month.
The summit will take place in Delhi, India’s capital, on September 9 to 10, 2018.
When Mr. Putin called Mr. Modi, he informed him that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would represent him at the summit.
Several “regional and global issues of mutual concern” were also brought up by the two presidents, India said in a statement.
Putin would not attend the conference, a Russian government official had stated last week, citing his “busy schedule”. The European Union and the 19 richest nations in the world make up the G20. The G20 presidency, which alternates annually among countries, is presently held by India.
At the conference in Delhi, where world leaders including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be present, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is anticipated to come up for discussion.
To avoid the possibility of being detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr. Putin attended the BRICS summit last week in Johannesburg via video link. Brics is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Because of his alleged involvement in war crimes in Ukraine, the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Putin.
India said in a statement on Monday that Prime Minister Modi had expressed “an understanding of Russia’s decision” and thanked President Putin for his assistance with Delhi’s initiatives while it held the G20 chair.
Putin’s absence from the G20 summit was not mentioned in Russia’s statement, which instead stated that the two nations had decided to “closely collaborate in the context of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship,” which begins on January 1st, next year.
The conversation also covered recent developments in Russian-Indian ties, which are progressing in the spirit of uniquely privileged strategic cooperation, it was said.
Source- BBC News
