Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted Indonesia’s invitation to join the G20 meeting later this year. This is reported by the Russian state news agency Tass, citing sources within the Kremlin.
“Yes, we have confirmed, our participation is planned,” said presidential assistant Yuri Ushakov Monday. It is not yet certain whether Putin will attend the meeting in person or via videoconference. “There is an invitation to participate in person, but there is still time. I hope the pandemic situation makes it possible to attend this important forum in person.”
The G20 summit, a summit of the 19 richest countries in the world and the European Union, in Indonesia will take place on November 15-16 in Bali. Indonesia currently holds the presidency of the G20. The Kremlin previously said it was “preparing” for the summit and Indonesian President Joko Widodo also confirmed that Russia will participate.
The invitation to Russia, despite accusations of war crimes after the invasion of Ukraine, caused controversy among several countries. A number of Western countries, led by the US, lobbied Indonesia to exclude Russia from the meeting. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that she is in favor of Putin “saying to his face what we think” during the summit.
Indonesian G20 leader and chairman Joko Widodo will visit Russia on Thursday, after a trip to Ukraine that is also scheduled for this week. He will meet Putin in Moscow. Widodo is the first Asian leader to visit both countries since the start of the conflict.
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