Did PM Modi refuse a meeting with Putin over Ukraine nuke threats? Russia responds

New Delhi: Days after media reports claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi won't be holding an annual in-person meeting with Vladimir Putin after the Russian president threatened to use nuclear weapons in the ongoing war in Ukraine, Moscow said that the report is "misunderstanding". Bloomberg News reported last week that a decision to cancel a summit between the two leaders was taken after veiled threats by Putin to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war. A Russian official told Bloomberg that India's decision not to hold a summit was clear at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan, where Modi told Putin that this was "not an era of war".

The Russian Foreign Ministry, however, said that the reports about the Indian PM refusing a meeting with the Russian President are a "misunderstanding", Reuters reported on Tuesday (December 13, 2022).

An Indian government source had also told Reuters that the decision not to hold the summit was taken much earlier and that the nuclear angle "was not a factor". 

Putin visited New Delhi in December last year for the 21st India–Russia annual summit, during which he extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit Russia for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.

I warmly thank H.E. President Putin for his visit to India. We exchanged very useful ideas for expanding our strategic, trade & investment, energy, connectivity, defence, science & technology and cultural cooperation. We also shared views on important global and regional issues. pic.twitter.com/FQGFgQzsfX — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 6, 2021

The annual summit between the Prime Minister of India and the Russian President is the highest institutionalized dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two nations.

Earlier in September this year, the two leaders met on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan's Samarkand. This was the first meeting of both leaders this year, which marks the 75th anniversary year of the establishment of diplomatic relations. 

Had a wonderful meeting with President Putin. We got the opportunity to discuss furthering India-Russia cooperation in sectors such as trade, energy, defence and more. We also discussed other bilateral and global issues. pic.twitter.com/iHW5jkKOW0 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 16, 2022

Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping to hold talks in late December

Meanwhile, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold talks to discuss the events of 2022 in late December.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said that the date and the agenda of the meeting are already known, but an official announcement will come later, Reuters reported.

It is notable that Russia has moved closer to China since sending its armed forces into Ukraine in February as Moscow seeks to boost its political, economic and security relations with non-Western countries.

(With agency inputs)