Putin still undecided on G-20 summit invite, says Indonesia’s Jokowi
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As of Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin's attendance at the G-20 meeting in Bali on Nov 15 to 16 is still up in the air.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JAKARTA – Russian President Vladimir Putin has still not decided if he will attend the Group of 20 (G-20) leaders’ summit in November, as war rages in Ukraine, the president of host nation Indonesia said in an interview on Friday.
The meeting of the world’s top economies has been overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, with both sides continuing to battle on the ground without significant change.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Mr Putin told him in a phone call on Wednesday his attendance at the two-day gathering on the resort island of Bali remained up in the air.
“He (Mr Putin) wanted to attend but cannot decide at the moment,” Mr Widodo told local newspaper Kompas in an interview published on Friday.
He said in August that Mr Putin accepted Jakarta’s invitation to the summit on Nov 15 to 16,
But the warring sides remain locked in a protracted conflict that Kyiv says has left 4.5 million Ukrainians without power during the cold of winter.
Indonesia pursues a neutral foreign policy on the Ukraine war and has also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the summit, where he is expected to participate virtually. Ukraine is not a member of the G-20 group.
Mr Zelensky has threatened to boycott the summit if Mr Putin attends.
“If the leader of the Russian Federation was to take part in it, Ukraine would not be participating,” he told reporters on Thursday in Kyiv.
In Wednesday’s phone call, Mr Putin and Mr Widodo also discussed a grains deal that Russia returned to this week that allows Ukrainian exports to pass through the Black Sea.
The grains deal’s renewal date brokered by the United Nations and Turkey is Nov 19, three days after the G-20 summit concludes.
Moscow has said it has yet to decide if it will agree to extend the deal.
Mr Zelensky said in a tweet that he and Mr Widodo held talks by phone on Thursday about preparations for the G-20 summit and the grains deal.
Indonesia has called for a peaceful resolution to Russia’s months-long invasion of Ukraine, with Mr Widodo becoming the first Asian leader to visit both Kyiv and Moscow since the outbreak of war in February.
The Indonesian president said 17 G-20 leaders have confirmed their attendance at the summit,
