Indonesian President Joko Widodo has confirmed that China's President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin plan to attend the Group of 20 (G-20) summit he is hosting in November - despite calls from some Western leaders to not invite Mr Putin. It would set the stage for what could be a contentious summit with United States President Joe Biden and his key allies. If all the three leaders show up, it would also be the first time they attend the same meeting together since two major global developments: the "no limits" strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow in February; and Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which drew a raft of sanctions from nations, including Singapore.

Neither Moscow nor Beijing - Mr Xi has not left Chinese territory for a while - has confirmed that its leader will attend the Bali summit in-person. The White House, after failing to persuade Indonesia to exclude Mr Putin from the summit, now insists that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should also be invited to the G-20 meeting. It is possible that he will attend, or at least address the meeting by video, and add to pressure on Russia. A G-20 foreign ministers meeting in preparation for the summit was marred by a walkout by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after Moscow was besieged by criticism over its invasion. Still, neither Russia, and even less so China, is friendless within the group.