Jakarta: Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, an Indonesian government official said on Thursday, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over his war in Ukraine.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the chief of support for G-20 events, said Putin’s decision not to come was the best for all of us.
US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders are to attend the two-day summit that starts next Tuesday.
The summit would have been the first time Biden and Putin were together at a gathering since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Indonesian President Joko Widodo is hosting the event on the island of Bali.
It has been officially informed that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G-20 summit, and will be represented by a high-level official, and this has been discussed by President Joko Widodo and Putin in previous telephone conversations,” Pandjaitan said after meeting security officials in Denpasar, the capital of Bali.
Whatever happens with Russia’s decision, it is for our common good and the best for all of us, added Pandjaitan, who is is also the coordinating minister of maritime affairs and investment.
He said earlier that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation.
Pandjaitan did not know why Putin decided not to come but said maybe it’s because President Putin is busy at home, and we also have to respect that.
Pandjaitan confirmed the same reason may be keeping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at home as well.
Widodo earlier this year travelled to Kyiv and Moscow in an effort to get the two leaders to sit down in Bali and make peace.
Russian Foreign Ministry and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed later on Thursday that Lavrov will head Russia’s delegation at the G-20 summit instead of Putin. He did not give a reason.
Putin’s decision not to attend the summit comes as Russian forces in Ukraine have suffered significant setbacks.
Russia’s military said it will withdraw from Kherson, which is the only Ukrainian regional capital it captured and a gateway to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.
—PTI

Press Trust of India