The G20 Indonesia Summit which will be held in Bali is likely to be attended by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. This certainty was conveyed by an Kremlin adviser, Monday local time.
The advisor is Yuri Ushakov. He said there could be a change in “the way Russia participates”. This is because the time gap for holding the summit is still long, from 15 to 16 November.
“We have received an official invitation … and we have responded positively, saying that we are interested in participating,” he told reporters, quoted Tuesday (28/6/2022)
“But for now, the invitation is for direct participation,” added Ushakov.
Indonesia itself is the current President of the G-20. Earlier in October 2021, Putin also joined the G20 summit in Rome, Italy, via a video link.
Previously, Western countries had pressured Indonesia to exclude Russia following the attack on Ukraine and accusations of war crimes. But Germany in its latest statement Monday is still open to taking part, despite Putin’s presence.
Meanwhile, it is known that Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will visit Russia, including Ukraine. This is after attending the G7 summit which took place in Germany.
The certainty of Putin’s arrival at the G20 Indonesia Summit is actually not a piece of big news if there are no major conflicts that are still happening in Europe. It is known, until now the war between Russia and Ukraine still has not shown signs of a truce.
Previously reported, several countries proposed that Indonesia expel Russia from the G20 membership after Russia continued to invade Ukraine. They even ordered Indonesia to ban Putin’s presence at the G20 summit conference in Bali, next November.
However, the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, did not succumb to the pressure and continued to invite Putin as planned.
This was conveyed by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto. He spoke up regarding the government’s decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Group 20 (G20) Summit in Bali.
Coordinating Minister Airlangga said, as the G20 Presidency, Indonesia has an interest in maintaining the integrity of the G20. Thus, all member countries of the G20 Summit will be invited to attend the G20 Summit in November.
“The war in Ukraine calls into question the existence of the G20. There is also a heated debate about who should or should not be invited. As the G20 Presidency, Indonesia’s interest is to maintain the integrity of the G20. The G20 must be maintained as a G20 – not a G19, or a G13,” said Coordinating Minister Airlangga, Tuesday (24/5/2022).
In addition, Jokowi also asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to come to Bali in November to attend the G20 Summit.
