After BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin to skip G20 Summit in India

The Kremlin on Friday informed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had no plans to attend the G20 summit in India, which is scheduled in September. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Putin's main focus is on the ongoing military operation in Ukraine.

Since the war in Ukraine started last year, Putin has not attended multilateral summits. He also skipped the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia last year.

He skipped the BRICS Summit in South Africa and attended a gathering of leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economies via video link, not in person. In the BRICS 15th Summit the Russian delegation was led by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 

It is to be noted that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Putin accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine, something the Kremlin strongly denies, Reuters reported. This means he could be arrested when travelling abroad.

South Africa is an ICC signatory and was expected to help in Putin's arrest if he was present in the country. But it is to be noted that India is not a signatory.

India is hosting the G20 Summit, scheduled in September, and will be attended by major global leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron etc., who imposed heavy sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. 

Experts have noted that the Russian President is shying away from the international event especially if they include Western leaders as he doesn't want to engage in a direct faceoff with the top leaders. 

The summit, which will take place from September 9 to 10, is likely to be attended by 29 heads of states as well as top officials of the European Union and invited guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations.

At the conclusion of the summit, the G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted.