On call, Russian president Putin tells PM Modi he can't attend G20 summit, will send foreign minister instead

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 its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. According to an official statement from the PM's office, the two leaders reviewed progress on a 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.

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 its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

While expressing an understanding for Russia’s decision, PM Modi thanked President Putin for Russia’s consistent support to all initiatives under India’s G20 Presidency, the statement added. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch. During today's conversation Putin once again warmly congratulated Modi on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon near its South Pole. According to the Kremlin, the two leaders reaffirmed the willingness to further develop bilateral cooperation in space exploration.

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had told Russian media that Putin was not planning to attend the G20 Summit to be held under Indian presidency in New Delhi and that the emphasis now is a “special military operation” indicating the conflict with Ukraine.

Putin had also skipped the recent summit of BRICS countries in South Africa and addressed the gathering via video link. Putin had virtually participated in the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Summit in Johannesburg this week. Speaking by video link to leaders of the group, the Russian President repeated the Kremlin narrative that his invasion, condemned by Ukraine and the West as an imperialist land grab, was a forced response by Russia to Kyiv's and Washington's hostile actions.