Putin may attend G20 summit in India, Bloomberg writes
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Bloomberg reports that the Kremlin is clearing the autocrat's schedule around the date of the event, citing people familiar with the planning.
Putin has skipped the last two G20 summits amidst growing pressure over the war in Ukraine. Sources familiar with Putin's schedule, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Kremlin is currently planning for him to attend the next summit, though a final decision has not yet been made.
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This week, the annual Vladivostok economic forum, scheduled for the eve of the G20 summit, was notably pushed to a week later "due to the schedule of international events." This, according to Bloomberg, would make Putin's trip to India possible.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, the outlet wrote.
India has formally invited Putin for the G20 leaders’ summit on Sept. 9-10 and the Kremlin has accepted.
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Previously, before the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022, the Kremlin also refused to provide a clear answer as to whether Putin would attend in person. Eventually, the Russian dictator refused to participate in the summit at all, even refusing an online appearance. The Kremlin justified this decision with alleged scheduling issues and Putin's "need to be in Russia."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was sent to Bali instead, but he faced a cold reception from the G20 member states and fled the summit before it was over. Only the representatives of India and China negotiated with him.
The recent G20 foreign ministers meeting held in New Delhi at the beginning of March saw bitter divisions over Russia’s war on Ukraine and ended without a joint communique as Russia and China blocked the joint statement agreed to at the previous G20 summit in Bali.
Putin’s future international travels could be severely limited should Ukraine’s expected war crimes cases against the Russian dictator prove successful.
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