Putin Informs PM Modi He Will Skip G20 Summit, Foreign Min To Represent Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin through his telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday confirmed his inability to attend the G20 Summit in the national capital the next month.

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia at the G20 Summit in New Delhi that will take place on September 9 and 10.

The two leaders also 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, a statement issued by the PMO said.

Responding to Russia's decision to attend the G20 Summit, PM Modi expressed his gratitude to President Putin for Russia's consistent support of all initiatives under India's G20 Presidency. PMO further said that the two leaders agreed to remain in touch.

This came after the two leaders dropped a hint last week that the Russian President may not be a part of the Summit and that a representative of the Russian President will join the Summit as Kremlin on Friday announced that Putin 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 G20 comprises 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA and the European Union (EU).