Decoding Putin's Absence: What's Behind His G20 Summit No-Show?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will not attend the upcoming G20 Summit in India, but will instead send Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The summit is scheduled for September 9-10 in New Delhi.

The two leaders also reviewed progress on various areas of bilateral collaboration and shared perspectives on regional and global matters of shared interest. These discussions encompassed topics like the recently concluded BRICS summit in Johannesburg, as indicated by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The Kremlin in its readout said "a mutual commitment" to the consistent implementation of "large-scale projects" in the energy sector and joint work on the expansion of international transport and logistics infrastructure was "expressed" during the conversation.

Putin's decision to skip the G20 Summit comes amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The United States and its allies have imposed severe sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion, and Putin is facing an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.

It is unclear why Putin has chosen to send Lavrov instead of attending the summit in person. Some analysts believe that he may be concerned about being arrested by the ICC if he travels to India. Others believe that he may be trying to avoid further isolating Russia on the global stage.

Whatever the reason, Putin's decision to skip the G20 Summit is a significant development. The G20 is a major forum for international cooperation, and Putin's absence will be a blow to Russia's efforts to maintain its influence on the global stage.

In the meantime, Russia and India continue to strengthen their bilateral ties. On Monday, Russia's largest rolling stock maker Transmashholding (TMH) deposited Rs 200 crore as performance bank guarantee (PBG) to the Indian Railways. As a result, the railways are now poised to enter into an agreement with TMH, designated as the technology partner responsible for producing 120 Vande Bharat trains equipped with sleeper coaches. The government's objective is to unveil the initial prototype of these trains by March of the upcoming year, conveniently preceding the Lok Sabha elections.