Putin likely to attend G20 summit in India as Kremlin opens up his schedule
Russia is freeing up Vladimir Putin's schedule around the upcoming G20 summit in India from September 9-10, in an effort to make it possible for the president to participate in the high-profile gathering after skipping the last two, according to people familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that aren't yet announced. Kremlin defiance is seeing incredible growth as efforts by the West to isolate Russia over its so-called special military operation in Ukraine are stalling in the face of reluctance among other countries to join. Officials recently postponed an annual economic forum in Vladivostok to a week later to offer the Russian president greater flexibility and even introduce the possibility of senior officials from China and India attending the forum, the people said. Formally, India has invited Putin to the September summit and the Kremlin has accepted. Putin dropped plans to attend the G20 summit in Indonesia last year and sent For...