Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not come to Moscow for the May 9 parade, the country will be represented at another level, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
India later said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh would attend the annual parade in Moscow, accepting an invitation that was also sent to Prime Minister Modi, media reports said.
The Indian government said on Wednesday that Russia had been informed that India would be represented by Singh.
Modi is focused on Pakistan’s response after last week’s attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir, which New Delhi blames Islamabad for and Islamabad denies the allegations.
Modi visited Russia for a summit in October and President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India later this year.
According to Russian media reports, the Russian government has extended an invitation to the leaders of China, India and Brazil, as well as EU country Slovakia and Serbia.
In February, US President Donald Trump said he would not go to Moscow on 9 May. He said this after publications appeared that he might attend the Victory Day Parade in the Russian capital.