India has no plans to invite Ukraine to the September summit of the group of 20 industrialized and developing countries, known as the G20, the country’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
“In our opinion, participation in the G20 is for the members and organizations we invite. We announced this list as soon as we assumed the chairmanship of the G20,” Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told reporters.
Ukraine is not in the G20, while Russia, with which it is at war, is in the group. India avoids condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine and is working to end it through diplomacy and dialogue.
The war in Ukraine and disruptions to global food and fuel supplies are expected to be high on the agenda of the G20 summit in New Delhi.
Last year Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was invited to attend the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Ukrainian president on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan in May, their first meeting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February.
India hopes to deepen trade with Russia, a Cold War ally from which it continues to buy record volumes of crude oil and also depends on the country for about 60% of its defense equipment.
In April, Ukraine asked India to provide medicines and medical equipment, as well as help rebuild war-damaged infrastructure.
India has said that in addition to medicines and medical equipment, it will also donate school buses to Ukraine.
AAT // adviser
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