Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not hold an annual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin this year because of his veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, sources told Bloomberg.

Modi and Putin met in September on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan and have spoken by phone several times this year, including on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

India, which has become the second-largest buyer of Russian oil after China and is trying to reduce its growing trade deficit with Moscow, has not directly condemned what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Representatives of India’s foreign ministry and the Russian embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the information reported by Bloomberg.

And Indian news channel ET Now broke the news.

“This is not a time of war”

A Russian official told Bloomberg that India’s decision not to host the summit this year was made clear at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan, where Modi told Putin that this era was “not an era of war.”

Putin has made a series of veiled nuclear threats throughout the war in Ukraine, but several senior officials have repeatedly denied that Moscow plans to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and have accused the West of raising the nuclear stakes.

Putin visited New Delhi last December on the sidelines of the 21st annual India-Russia summit.

“Unbreakable friendship” between Delhi and Moscow

Instead of engaging in political isolation of Russia, India has continued diplomatic dialogue with it at all levels and in all formats, including participation in the recent Vostok 2022 joint military exercises. In September, Modi assured Putin of their “unbreakable friendship” — like the Sino-Russian partnership “without limits.”

India has not joined the sanctions regime but has increased crude oil imports, becoming the second largest customer of Russian oil after China, and plans to increase imports of gas and coal.

In August, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba noted that “every barrel of Russian crude oil that India receives contains a significant portion of Ukrainian blood,” calling for “more practical support” for India.

In short, India demanded dialogue and truce without specifying who is the aggressor and who is the victim. He deliberately balanced carefully, trying not to irritate Russia, his old friend, as well as the West, his new partner.