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Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will not visit Russia to attend the Victory Day celebrations next week, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Wednesday, as tension soared between New Delhi and Islamabad.
"The leader of India will not come, India will not be represented at the highest level," Dmitry Peskov said, without citing reasons.
India's foreign ministry earlier in April confirmed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had invited Mr Modi to be part of the celebrations to mark Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany on 9 May. The ministry said an announcement regarding India's participation will be made in "due course".
While there was no official confirmation from India, it appeared Mr Modi dropped out of the 80th anniversary celebrations of Victory Day in the wake of one of the deadliest terror attacks on tourists in India-administered Kashmir last Tuesday.
At least 26 people were killed as militants opened fire on them in the picturesque Baisaran Valley in the restive Himalayan region.
Mr Modi, who was in Saudi Arabia for a state visit, cut his tour short to return to India and has since been in the country. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the terror attack and responded by cancelling visas of all Pakistanis living in India, while also suspending a crucial water sharing treaty with Islamabad.
Pakistan retaliated by closing its airspace to Indian airlines and halting trade.
As tensions escalate, cross-border firing between soldiers of India and Pakistan has also increased along the Line of Control, the de facto frontier that separates Kashmiri territory between the two neighbours.
Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, on Wednesday said Islamabad had credible intelligence that India intended to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours over the “baseless and concocted allegations of involvement” in the attack.
China has supported Islamabad's call for an impartial investigation into the attack in Kashmir. "As an ironclad friend and all-weather strategic cooperative partner, China fully understands Pakistan's legitimate security concerns and supports its efforts to uphold its sovereignty and security interests," China's top diplomat Wang Yi told his Pakistani counterpart.
Chinese president Xi Jinping is among at least 20 world leaders who are expected to attend the Victory Day celebrations. India is likely to send defence minister Rajnath Singh to mark its presence at the event at the Red Square, according to local reports.
Mr Singh had visited Russia last year for the commissioning of INS Tushil in Kaliningrad and paid tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed in March that "president Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation to visit from the Indian head of government".
"A visit by the Russian head of state to the Republic of India is currently being prepared," Mr Lavrov was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.
Meanwhile, Mr Putin announced a "humanitarian" truce in his war against Ukraine that will be in effect from midnight on 8 May until midnight on 11 May for the Victory Day celebrations.
"During this period, all military actions will cease. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example," the Kremlin said in a statement.
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