World Leaders Gather in India, but Where’s Putin? Here is the answer:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been notably absence from various international summits, including the G20 and BRICS meetings, since the Ukraine crisis began in February 2022. He recently announced that he won’t be attending the upcoming G20 leaders’ summit in India, citing the focus on the ongoing military operation in Ukraine. This decision also casts doubt on his anticipated visit to Turkey upon President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation. Notably, Putin had previously missed the G20 summit in Bali and the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov leading the Russian delegation in those instances.
Several leaders have already confirmed their attendance at the G20 summit in India, including President Joe Biden of the United States and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia. The physical summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), initially set to take place under India’s chairmanship, was canceled earlier, precluding a potential visit by Putin to India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted the SCO summit virtually on July 4 due to the decision made in May to not hold the event in person.
Despite his absence from certain international events, Putin did visit Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in June 2022. During these visits, he engaged in discussions with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan regarding the aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover in Kabul in 2021. Additionally, he participated in the Caspian Summit in Turkmenistan, focusing on improving land connectivity between South, West, Central Asia, and Russia.
Previously, there were indications that Putin would travel to Turkey to discuss the Black Sea Grain deal with Erdogan, who has maintained close communication with the Kremlin concerning the situation in Ukraine. While Turkish media mentioned a potential visit at the end of August, Russian sources declined to confirm this information.
As of now, the Ministry of External Affairs has not provided a response to Dmitry Peskov’s statements about Putin’s absence from the G20 summit.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at BRICS Summit 2023