“Specific dates of Vladimir Putin’s visit to India will soon be announced,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India soon, the Russian government’s spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The announcement on dates will be made soon, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s press secretary further said. “Specific dates of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India will soon be announced and Russia will begin preparing for it,” Peskov.
He added in a video message: “I hope soon we’ll work out the precise dates of his visit… Of course, after two visits of Prime Minister Modi to Russia, now we have a visit of the President to India, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Putin is under an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. In March 2023, nearly a year after the conflict began in February 2022, the ICC issued arrest warrants against both Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for child rights, for the alleged war crimes.
Under the Rome Statute, the court’s binding treaty, individuals against whom an ICC warrant has been issued, must be detained if the person visits a country which is a member state of the ICC. However, India has not signed or ratified the Rome Statue. Therefore, the ex-KGB agent cannot be arrested here.
Also, India has repeatedly abstained from voting against Moscow on resolutions in the United Nations on the Ukraine war. Additionally, it has continued to purchase oil from Russia, adding to the annoyance of the United States-led western bloc of nations.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia’s Kazan for the annual summit of the leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group of nations. The two leaders held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit.
