Biden's participation in G20 virtual summit hosted by Modi uncertain, Putin will attend

New Delhi: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair another G20 summit virtually on Wednesday, uncertainty looms large over the participation of United States President Joe Biden, although Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to attend it through video conferencing from Moscow.

“With Thanksgiving around the corner, we are not sure whether he (US president) would be able to take part in the virtual summit,” the envoy of Washington DC to New Delhi, Eric Garcetti, said on Monday.

Garcetti noted that Biden had visited New Delhi from September 8 to 10 to attend the 18th G20 summit which had been hosted by Modi.

Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping had skipped the G20 summit in New Delhi. Russia’s delegation had been led by the country’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and China’s by its Premier Li Qiang.

The 18th G20 summit had ended with a Delhi Declaration, which had been unanimously adopted. The Delhi Declaration avoided any direct criticism of Russia for its military aggression against Ukraine.

Sources in New Delhi said that Putin would attend the virtual summit on Wednesday.

New Delhi has not yet received any confirmation from Beijing about the participation of the Chinese President in the virtual G20 summit. Xi will however join Modi, Putin, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil through video conferencing on Tuesday for a virtual BRICS summit for discussing the conflict in West Asia.

Modi had announced at the closing ceremony of the G20 summit on September 10 that India would be hosting a virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit prior to the conclusion of its G20 Presidency.

The leaders of all the G20 Members including the Chair of the African Union, as well as nine Guest countries, and Heads of 11 International Organizations, have been invited for the G20 virtual summit.

The virtual G20 summit will take forward key, select outcomes and action points from the bloc’s New Delhi summit as well as review developments since then.

The Virtual G20 Summit is also expected to push for effective implementation of various G20 decisions, including through relevant national and international platforms, the Ministry of External Affairs stated in New Delhi.

India holds the G20 Presidency until November 30.