Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ meeting in Bali next week, an Indonesian government official told Reuters on Thursday.
According to Jodi Mahardi, a spokesperson for the Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs, Putin will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
According to him, the Russian president would attend one of the meetings online.
As G20 host, Indonesia has resisted demands from Western countries and Ukraine to rescind Putin’s invitation to the leaders summit and exclude Russia from the group over the Ukraine conflict, claiming that it lacks the capacity to do so without unanimous agreement among members.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Russia was welcome at the summit, which he feared would be overshadowed by a ‘very frightening’ escalation in international tensions.
‘The G20 is not a political forum; it is about economy and development,’ he was quoted as adding.
Post Your Comments