Listen to the news

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin - Russian politician.

Born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. They will not hold their annual private meeting this month, an Indian government source said yesterday, quoted by Reuters.

The information was also confirmed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported that the decision to cancel the summit was made because of Putin's veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine.

An Indian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the decision not to hold the meeting in question had been made much earlier and the issue of nuclear weapons was not the reason for the change in plans. 

The Indian Prime Minister sharply criticized Putin for the war in Ukraine

The leaders of Russia and India meet every year, as stipulated in a declaration of strategic partnership since 2000, TASS notes.

The 2020 summit could not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Putin visited Delhi in December 2021, and the two leaders spoke again in September this year on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan.

Since Moscow launched its war against Kiev, India, along with China, has become one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil, and Delhi has not directly condemned Russian military actions, Reuters points out.

Vladimir Putin

Narendra Modi