Putin To Skip G20 Summit In Bali Amid War In Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend next week's G20 summit in Bali.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation to the summit, which will be the first gathering of world leaders since the war started in Ukraine.

The Russian embassy in Indonesia told AFP that Putin's programme was “still being worked out” and that the Russian leader could attend the summit virtually.

An Indonesian government official previously told Reuters that Lavrov would represent Putin and that the Russian president would virtually attend one of the summit's meetings.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told the Financial Times earlier this week that he had a “strong impression” Putin would skip the meeting.

The fallout from the Ukraine war, which has fueled global food and fuel shortages, is expected to dominate the G20 summit, which brings together the leaders of 19 countries and the European Union.

The summit's host, Indonesia, has rejected calls from Western countries and Ukraine to exclude Russia, vowing to remain neutral and emphasising the potential for cooperation on food and energy security.

Widodo has bemoaned the geopolitical tensions surrounding the summit, which he claims is intended to focus on economic development and is “not intended to be a political forum.”

Last month, 16 G20 members backed a resolution condemning Moscow’s attempted annexation of four eastern Ukrainian regions at the United Nations General Assembly. China, India and South Africa all voted no, while the European Union is not represented at the UN body.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has also been invited to the summit, has previously said that he will not attend if Putin attends.

Among the world leaders expected to attend the gathering are Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden.