Rishi Sunak will use a meeting with Narendra Modi in Delhi to push the Indian prime minister to take a tougher stance towards Russia, Downing Street has said.
The two prime ministers will meet this weekend before the G20 summit in the Indian capital, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be discussed in front of the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, told Modi a week ago he would not attend.
Sunak and Modi are due to discuss a range of issues, including a potential free trade agreement. Downing Street indicated the British prime minister would also use the meeting to raise the issue of the relationship between Delhi and Moscow, given that India continues to import Russian oil and weapons.
Sunak said in a statement: “Once again, Vladimir Putin is failing to show his face at the G20. He is the architect of his own diplomatic exile, isolating himself in his presidential palace and blocking out criticism and reality.
“The rest of the G20, meanwhile, are demonstrating that we will turn up and work together to pick up the pieces of Putin’s destruction.”
A Downing Street spokesperson added: “India of course has a vital role to play, as the world’s largest democracy, in calling out Russia’s assault on human rights and indeed democracy itself. We will use meetings with Modi or elsewhere to encourage them to use their influence to bring an end to the brutal invasion.”
Sunak is hoping to use the summit to persuade world leaders to criticise Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain initiative, the deal agreed between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey last summer under which Ukrainian food supplies were allowed to leave the country for export.
Russia pulled out of the deal after accusing western countries of not honouring their commitment to allow it to export increased amounts of agricultural produce. Sunak is planning to use the summit to argue that Moscow’s decision to do so has added to global inflation and is hurting the world’s poorest.
The prime minister spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, on Thursday. Downing Street said afterwards: “The prime minister committed to galvanise work with G20 countries on circumventing Russia’s blockade and ensuring vulnerable countries can access vital grain shipments.”
