Indian PM Narendra Modi to skip annual summit with Russia’s Putin - report

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is going to skip an annual summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin, it was reported.

News channel ET Now, citing sources, reported on Friday that Mr Modi will miss the annual summit this year.

Last year in December, Mr Putin visited New Delhi for the 21st India-Russia annual summit.

The Russian president had extended an invitation to the Indian PM to visit Russia for the 22nd India-Russia Annual summit. He thanked Mr Modi for the “gracious hospitality extended to him and his delegation in New Delhi”.

The Indian government has not responded yet to a request for comment by Reuters.

The two leaders met in September on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan.

“I know that today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this,” Mr Modi had told Mr Putin, in comments about the Ukraine invasion on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation security bloc summit.

The two leaders have also spoken on the phone a number of times this year, including on the subject of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The 21st India - Russia annual summit in New Delhi focussed on strengthening and expanding the “bilateral relations for the benefit of the peoples of India and Russia”.

This comes as India has abstained from UN votes to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine and has also held back from participating in the US-led efforts against Moscow.

Russia is also on its way to becoming India’s top oil supplier this month, as the Asian giant’s oil supplies from the country went from almost nothing in January and February this year to almost more than 1 million barrels per day in November.

This despite Ukraine hitting out at India for buying cheap Russian oil “while we are suffering and dying”.

“The opportunity for India to buy Russian oil at a cheap price comes from the fact that Ukrainians are suffering from Russian aggression and dying every day,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview.