India's NDTV, August 30, 2020 reports [Not surprisingly!]:
"India Pulls Out Of Russia Military Exercise With China, Pak [Allegedly] Over Covid
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"India Pulls Out Of Russia Military Exercise With China, Pak [Allegedly] Over Covid
India was invited by Russia to participate in the tri-services exercise with a contingent of around 200 personnel to southern Russia in September for the multi-lateral Kavkaz-2020.
New Delhi: India will not send its contingent to the multinational military exercise Kavkaz-2020, being organised in Russia, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [India's] Defence Ministry said [August 30, 2020]."Russia and India are privileged strategic partners. At Russia's invitation, India has been participating in many international events. However, due to COVID-19 and consequent difficulties in exercise, India has decided not to send a contingent this year to Kavkaz-2020," the [Indian] Defence Ministry spokesperson said.
Indian troops with AK-100 assault rifles? India has many similar rifles - see Indian Army small arms.
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Both China and Pakistan are going to be a part of the multinational exercise.
News agency ANI, quoting sources in the Defence Ministry, said that China's participation in the exercise was also a reason for India to pull out of the multilateral tri-services military exercise. They say while India is locked in a military conflict with the Chinese in eastern Ladakh and on high alert all along the 4,000 kilometre Line of Actual Control (LAC), it cannot be business as usual for us to be participating in multilateral military exercises with them.
India and China had clashed in the Galwan valley on June 15 in which 20 Indian troops had lost their lives while the Chinese also suffered a number of casualties with scores of Chinese soldiers killed and injured there.
Sources added that Defence Minister would be visiting Russia on September 4-6 for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation [SCO at which India is a member since 2017] defence ministers' meeting but it is unlikely that the Indian representative would be holding any talks with his Chinese counterpart..."