Vladimir Putin will not attend upcoming G20 summit: Indonesian govt official

• Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, Indonesia.
• Russia has been excluded from the group over the Ukraine conflict.
• Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that Russia was welcome at the G20 despite tensions with the West.

An Indonesian government official said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali the following week.

Putin will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs spokesperson Jodi Mahardi.

The Russian president is expected to participate electronically in one of the meetings, he said.

Indonesia, as host of the G20, has resisted pressure from Western nations and Ukraine to withdraw its invitation to Putin for the leaders meeting and exclude Russia from the group over the conflict in Ukraine, arguing that it lacks the right to do so without consent among the organization’s members.

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In an interview with the Financial Times, Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated that Russia was welcome at the summit, which he thought would be eclipsed by a “very worrying” increase in international tensions.

“The G20 is not meant to be a political forum. It’s meant to be about economics and development,” he was said to have said.

Indonesia has also sent an invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has stated that he will not attend if Putin is present and is likely to participate remotely.

Other foreign leaders are expected to attend the summit beginning on November 10, including U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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