Xi, Putin skipping G20 summit has nothing to do with India — FM Jaishankar

China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin skipping this week's G20 summit in New Delhi is not unusual and has nothing to do with India, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told ANI news agency.

Sherpas of the G20 countries are negotiating to build a consensus and arrive at a declaration at the September 9-10 summit in New Delhi, he said in an interview aired on Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden heads to India for the summit aiming to capitalise on the glaring absence of China's and Russia's leaders to bolster alliances in the sharply divided bloc.

Biden will discuss "a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues" including climate change and "mitigating the economic and social impacts of Russia's war in Ukraine", National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said ahead of the summit.

China has given no reason why Xi will not attend the September 9-10 summit, confirming only that Premier Li Qiang would join the leaders of the world's biggest economies, which account for about 85 percent of global GDP and greenhouse gas emissions.

'Worrisome'

Xi's absence will impact Washington's bid to keep the G20 the main forum of global economic cooperation and efforts to make a financing push for developing countries.

"Without China being on board... issues may not really see the light of day or reach any logical conclusion," said Happymon Jacob, a politics professor at India's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The ongoing war in Ukraine also over shadows the event, with Russian President Vladimir Putin set to miss the meeting and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov taking his place at the table.

In March, the International Criminal Court announced an arrest warrant for Putin over the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children, allegations the Kremlin insists are "void".

"As long as Russia doesn't end this war, there can be no business as usual", German government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner said.

India, fresh from celebrating the cementing of its position as a space power by landing a craft on the Moon in August, has portrayed its hosting of the G20 as a coming-of-age moment that makes it a key global player.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pitched India as a self-styled leader of the "Global South", a bridge between developed and developing countries, and has pushed to expand the bloc into the "G21" with the inclusion of the African Union.