Russian President Vladimir Putin notified Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday that he would not be able to attend the G20 Summit in India next month and that Sergey Lavrov would represent Russia instead, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The two leaders also discussed progress on a number of bilateral cooperation matters over the phone and exchanged opinions on regional and global subjects of interest, including the recently finished BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, according to a statement released by the PMO.
President Putin expressed his unwillingness to attend the September 9–10 G20 Summit in New Delhi. PM Modi thanked President Putin for Russia’s continued support of all measures under India’s G20 Presidency while expressing sympathy for Russia’s choice, according to the PMO.
The statement stated that the two leaders decided to keep in touch.
