Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in G20 virtual summit on November 22: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to participate in the virtual G20 Leaders' Summit hosted by India on Wednesday, as confirmed by the Kremlin. Notably, Putin did not attend the G20 Summit in person in New Delhi in September, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov representing him. The Kremlin cited the "special military operation" in Ukraine as the reason for Putin's absence from the September summit, and he also skipped the Bali summit of the G20 in November last year.

The state-run Tass news agency quoted a Kremlin statement stating that Putin will join the extraordinary summit of the Group of 20 via video link on November 22, 2023. The upcoming virtual summit is expected to involve discussions on various global issues, including the results of India's G20 presidency, the state of the global economy, financial matters, climate agenda, and digitalization issues, according to the Kremlin press service.

China has also announced its participation in the virtual summit, with Premier Li Qiang set to attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the New Delhi G20 Summit. The G20 Sherpa for India, Amitabh Kant, described the virtual summit as "rare and exceptional."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced during the closing session of the New Delhi G20 Summit on September 10 that India would host a virtual G20 Leaders' Summit before the conclusion of its G20 Presidency on November 30. This virtual summit provides PM Modi with a second opportunity to interact with world leaders during India's G20 Presidency before it transitions to Brazil in December.