President Vladimir Putin Will Not Attend G20 Summit in Bali

VIVA – The leader of Russia, President Vladimir Putin will not attend the meeting of leaders from the G20 countries. It was announced by an Indonesian government official.

According to the Spokesperson of the coordinating minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Jodi Mahardi, said the Russian President will be represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov. Not only that, but Moscow's embassy in Indonesia also confirmed that Putin would not be attending.

"I can confirm that (foreign minister) Sergei Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation to the G20. President Putin's program is still being worked out, he can participate virtually," Russian embassy protocol chief, Yulia Tomskaya said, as quoted from The Guardian, November 10, 2022.

As host of the G20, Indonesia has resisted pressure from western countries and Ukraine to withdraw its invitation to Putin from the leaders' summit and exclude Russia from the group due to the war in Ukraine.

President Jokowi in an interview with the Financial Times said that Russia wll be warmly welcome at the summit, he’s just worried about an increase in international tensions.

"The G20 is not meant to be a political forum. It's meant for economics and development," he said.

Indonesia has also invited the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he would not take part if Putin attended the summit. Some other world leaders will attend the summit starting on November 15, including US president Joe Biden, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Biden has previously said that he has no intention of meeting Putin at the summit. The decision, which follows months of speculation, comes as Moscow suffers losses in its Ukraine campaign and as the Kremlin tries to shield itself from western criticism at the summit.

In August, an adviser to the Indonesian president said both Putin and Xi were expected to attend the summit.