The Indian Foreign Minister said that the absence of Russian and Chinese leaders from the G20 summit was not unusual and had nothing to do with New Delhi.
"No, I don't think the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to not attend the G20 summit has anything to do with India," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told an interviewer on September 5 when asked if Putin and Xi were upset with India for not attending the event.
"Whatever decision is taken, they know best. But I don't see it the way you have taken it at all," Jaishankar added.
Russia and China previously announced that Xi Jinping and Putin would not attend the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9-10.
Asked whether the absence of the Russian and Chinese leaders would affect the ability to build consensus and issue a statement at the end of the summit, Jaishankar said G20 members were "negotiating right now".
Indian Foreign Minister speaks in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 13. Photo: AFP
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on September 5 denied that Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi had discussed and agreed not to attend the G20 summit. "The leaders make decisions based on their own schedules," Mr. Peskov said.
The G20 is a group of the world's top 20 economies , accounting for more than 90% of the world's total economic size and two-thirds of the world's population. The G20 Summit is where leaders discuss important economic issues, promote policies related to financial stability and the direction of world economic development. India is the host of the G20 this year.
Tensions between China and India reached a boiling point after a clash in the Himalayan border area in June 2020 that left many soldiers dead. The two militaries then held several rounds of talks but failed to reach a consensus. During a meeting on the sidelines of the recent BRICS summit in South Africa, Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed measures to ease tensions but failed to agree on any landmark agreements.
President Putin attended the 2020 and 2021 G20 meetings virtually due to Covid-19. He did not attend last year's G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where economic leaders criticized Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Analysts and officials say the absence of Mr Putin and Mr Xi, as well as divisions among member states over the war in Ukraine, will make it difficult for leaders to reach a joint statement in New Delhi.
Huyen Le (According to Reuters , TASS )
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