There is no confirmation yet on the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the G20 Summit in India next month though New Delhi looks forward to the full participation of all invitees, top sources in the Indian government told News18 on Thursday.
There has been speculation about Putin’s in-person participation in the G20 summit in New Delhi after South Africa said the Russian president will not travel to Johannesburg to attend the BRICS summit in August.
“We have extended the invitation. If Putin comes, G20 will be even more successful. But right now there is no final word on his attendance. India looks forward to full participation of all invitees,” the source said when asked about the Russian leader’s presence.
The official said India will also participate in peace talks organised by Ukraine and to be hosted by Saudi Arabia this month.
“India will also participate in the Jeddah talks. Either local representatives from the Embassy or representatives from Delhi will attend the meet. We have been invited and we’ll go. Our view is neutral and balanced. We’ll give our views, whether it’s the Saudi forum or an American forum. We have always batted for peace.”
“India has strategic interest in Russia in oil, defence and other sectors. Russia won’t be upset if we attend the meet,” the official said.
At a media briefing on July 20, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi did not give a direct reply when asked whether Putin will attend the G20 summit.
“At this point, all I can reiterate is what we have said earlier that invitations have gone out to all the G20 members, invitee countries and international organisations,” he said. “This is a physical summit and we would hope that all the invitees are able to participate in-person for the summit.There have been confirmations, I understand. But again I don’t have any specific response on any particular leader,” he said.
“I don’t think that it would be fair to look at it that way but yes, we are looking forward to welcoming the leaders here for our G20 New Delhi leaders’ summit in September,” Bagchi added.
The Russian delegation at the G20 leaders’ forum in Bali, Indonesia last year was headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In 2020 and 2021, Putin attended the G20 summits via video link.
The G20 Leaders’ Summit is scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi as India is the current chair of the bloc.
G20 or the Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. The members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
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