Russian President Vladimir Putin holds phone call with PM Modi ahead of G20 Summit in India: Report
Narendra Modi as reported by Russian news agency TASS. The call between the two top leaders were held after reports last week indicated that Russian President will not personally attend the G20 summit to be held in New Delhi in September and the Kremlin announced on Friday, saying he has a "busy schedule" and the main focus is still the "special military operation" in Ukraine. The G20 world leaders' summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.
The summit is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in India. India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, 2022, from Indonesia. "No, the president has no such plans," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
He said the format of Putin's participation would be determined later. Russia launched a "special military operation" against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. India has been pressing for the resolution of the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
Peskov recalled that Putin participated in this week's BRICS summit in Johannesburg remotely. He was represented at the summit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "Well, and after all, now he really has a busy schedule.
And, of course, the main focus is still the special military operation. So direct travel is not on the agenda right now," the Kremlin spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Tass news agency. The Russian president did not participate in the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia in November last year.
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