Vladimir Putin, G20 Summit in Indonesia, Russian Embassy, Indonesia, Joe Biden
Putin Will Not Attend G20 Summit in Indonesia, Says Russian Embassy
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Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, will not be present at the G20 meeting, which will take place in Bali, a tourist destination in Indonesia, next week, the Russian embassy in that country said on Thursday. “I’m able to vouch for Sergei Lavrov’s participation as the head of the Russian delegation to the G20. The program for President Putin is still being developed; he could participate digitally “said Yulia Tomskaya, the embassy’s protocol officer.

Joe Biden, the US President who has referred to Putin as a “war criminal” and who will be present at the summit, previously declared that he had no desire to see Putin in Bali if he went.

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The choice, which comes after months of speculation, comes as Moscow experiences setbacks in its campaign in Ukraine and as it seeks to avoid being criticised by the West at the summit on November 15–16.

Lavrov would take over for Putin, according to a second source with knowledge of Russia’s preparations for the Bali event. Uncertainty was expressed on whether the Russian president would participate virtually.

After authorities roundly denounced Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s senior diplomat left a G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali in July.

Host As part of its neutral foreign policy, Indonesia has rejected requests from the West to exclude Russia from the conference. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, is anticipated to join the conference online.

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A barrage of Western condemnation followed Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s declaration that Putin would attend the conference despite the invasion. He said in August that Putin had accepted the invitation.

If Putin attended the summit, Zelensky had vowed to abstain. The G20 alliance does not include Ukraine.

France has issued a warning against furthering Putin’s isolation on the international scene while US Vice President Joe Biden has avoided communication with his Russian counterpart.

The UN nuclear watchdog was given permission to send a mission to the Ukrainian nuclear power facility that is now under Russian occupation after French President Emmanuel Macron met with Putin in recent months.

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Russia refers to its invasion as an unique military operation to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, and it holds Western sanctions responsible for the following worldwide economic unrest the conflict has generated after it sparked food and energy shortages.

The Bali meeting takes place while a Ukrainian counteroffensive is causing Russia to lose ground on the battlefield.

On Wednesday, Russia gave the order for its soldiers to leave the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Since the offensive’s start on February 24 it has been the only regional capital under Moscow’s control.