Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and informed him that he would not be able to participate in the G-20 summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10.
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The news came days after a Kremlin spokesperson said that Mr. Putin was unlikely to attend the summit as he was focussed on the “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“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. While expressing an understanding for Russia’s decision, PM thanked President Putin for Russia’s consistent support to all initiatives under India’s G20 Presidency,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a press release.
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The news came hours after the Russian media reported that Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to be in Moscow on September 8 for a meeting with Mr. Putin. It is understood that Mr. Erdogan may meet Mr. Putin in Moscow on his way to New Delhi for the G-20 summit. Russia and Turkey are in talks to revive the Black Sea Grain Corridor.
Since his decision to declare the “special military operation” against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Mr. Putin has skipped several international meets, including the G-20 summit in Bali as well as the latest BRICS summit in Johannesburg where Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the Russian delegation.
The G-20 summit in Delhi is expected to see some high-decibel exchanges on the Ukraine conflict which has challenged the world order. The G-20 Foreign Ministers meeting in March had given signs of what might be expected as the discussion during that event had turned heated over Ukraine.