Russia remains diplomatically a pariah. Moscow will be represented by its Foreign Minister at the G20 summit organized in September in India, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (August 28) during a telephone conversation during which they also discussed bilateral ties.
This statement confirms an earlier announcement by the Kremlin that Vladimir Putin, targeted by an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, would not travel to New Delhi for the 9 and September 10. Russia rejects accusations against Kremlin chief. For this same reason, Vladimir Putin refrained last week from traveling to South Africa for the BRICS summit, which he took part by videoconference.
“Constant support”. According to a statement from the Indian government, Vladimir Putin told Narendra Modi that the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, would represent him in New Delhi. “While expressing his understanding of the Russian decision, the PM thanked President Putin for Russia’s continued support to all initiatives under India’s G20 Presidency,” it said.
Targeted by broad Western sanctions for the offensive launched in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has since sought to further strengthen its ties with India, which is one of the main buyers of Russian oil. Monday’s phone call was an opportunity to discuss “current issues of Russian-Indian relations, which are gradually developing in a spirit of particularly privileged strategic partnership,” the Kremlin said.
This article is originally published on lopinion.fr
