India-Russia
After Rahul Gandhi's attack, Centre says India-Russia summit cancelled over Covid-19 pandemic
New Delhi/IBNS: After Congress MP Rahul Gandhi attacked Centre over the cancellation of India-Russia annual summit citing media reports, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday denounced the criticisms as "false and misleading."
The foreign ministry's statement came shortly after the Congress leader stated that "damaging traditional relationships" was dangerous for India's future.
"The India-Russia Annual Summit did not take place in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. This was a mutually agreed decision between the two governments. Any imputation otherwise is false and misleading. Spreading false stories in important relationships is particularly irresponsible," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.
Please see our response to a media report regarding the India-Russia Annual Summit. pic.twitter.com/BShPqq8NTR
— Anurag Srivastava (@MEAIndia) December 23, 2020
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had tweeted, along with a media report: "Russia is a very important friend of India. Damaging our traditional relationships is short-sighted and dangerous for our future."
Russia is a very important friend of India.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 23, 2020
Damaging our traditional relationships is short-sighted and dangerous for our future. pic.twitter.com/U5VyFWeS6L
Some reports have linked the cancellation of the summit for the first time since 2000 to Moscow's comments on Monday expressing reservations about India joining the Quadrilateral coalition or Quad.
Russia said it would be detrimental to inclusive dialogue for ensuring peace and stability in the region.
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