India-Russia summit didn’t happen due to COVID: Govt clarifies after Rahul Gandhi's tweet

New Delhi, Dec 23: The government on Wednesday said that the India-Russia annual summit was cancelled because of the Covid pandemic, asserting that "any imputation otherwise is false and misleading".

The Ministry of External Affairs statement came shortly after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted that "damaging traditional relationships" was dangerous for India's future.

"India-Russia Annual Summit didn't take place in 2020 due to COVID pandemic. This was a mutually agreed decision between the two governments. Any imputation otherwise is false and misleading. Spreading false stories in important relationships is particularly irresponsible," the MEA spokesperson said.

India and Russia have been holding the annual summit, which is the highest institutionalised dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership, since 2000 when the 'Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership' was signed between both sides.

MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava further said that the decision to not hold the annual meeting this year was taken mutually by the government of both countries.