Putin likely to attend G20 summit in India as Russia frees up his schedule

For the moment, the Kremlin is planning for the Russian president to participate in the meeting though no final decision has been made, reports said

Moscow’s defiance is growing as efforts by the US and its allies to isolate the country over the Ukraine war are stalling in the face of reluctance among others to join

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Russian president Vladimir Putin. Photo: Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Published: 10:11am, 11 Mar 2023Updated: 10:42am, 11 Mar 2023

The Kremlin is opening up Vladimir Putin’s schedule around this year’s G20 summit in India in September to make it possible for the Russian president to participate in the leaders’ gathering after skipping the last two, according to people familiar with the planning.

Kremlin defiance is growing as efforts by the US and its allies to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine are stalling in the face of reluctance among other countries to join.

For the moment, the Kremlin is planning for him to participate in the summit though no final decision has been made, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that aren’t yet public.

Officials this week shifted the dates for an annual economic forum in Vladivostok, which had been set for the eve of the September 9-10 summit, to a week later to give Putin greater flexibility and open the possibility that senior officials from India and China might attend the forum, the people said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment.

Formally, India has invited Putin to the G20 summit and the Kremlin has accepted. But last year, amid pressure from the US and its allies over the war, Putin dropped plans to attend the gathering in Indonesia and sent Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his place. He also skipped the G20 meeting in Rome a year earlier while he was planning his invasion of Ukraine.