Zelenskyy invited to G20 meeting in Bali, which Putin may also attend
Washington— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to attend this year’s G20 summit in Bali, he announced on Wednesday, which Russian President Vladimir Putin may also attend.
Zelenskyy shared on Twitter that he and Widodo spoke on Wednesday and discussed food safety issues, which officials say will be exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. He said he also thanked his Indonesian counterpart for his support for “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, especially for a clear position at the ‘United Nations.’
“I appreciate having invited me to the [G20] summit,” Zelenskyy said.
Hosted by Indonesia, the G20 summit of leaders of the world’s largest economies is scheduled to take place in mid-November. Zelenskyy did not say if he would accept Widodo’s invitation to attend the meeting. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the Biden administration welcomes the offer made to the Ukrainian president.
Russia’s ambassador to Jakarta, Lyudmila Vorobieva, told reporters last month that Putin intended to attend the G20 meeting, although she acknowledged that his attendance would “depend on many, many things. , including the COVID situation.”
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that a final decision on Putin’s presence would be made in the future.
“Indonesia is the presiding country and the host,” he said, according to Russian news agency TASS. “Naturally, we will be oriented to the organizers in the first place. A future decision regarding participation will be made depending on how the situation develops.”
US and Western allies have called for Russia’s expulsion from the G20 in response to its invasion of ukraine end of February. President Biden told reporters at a press conference in March that he thinks Russia should be removed from the forum, although he acknowledged that would depend on the G20.
“If that cannot be done, if Indonesia and others do not agree, then we should, in my opinion, ask for Ukraine to be able to attend the meetings, as well as …to observe,” the president said.
At a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington earlier this month, the Treasury secretary and other officials walked out of the session when Russia’s finance minister began speaking.
PSAKI said at the time that the move was an indication that Putin and Russia had “become a pariah on the world stage”.
“Both the President and Secretary Yellen have said that we cannot continue as usual at the G20 or in many of these international forums as far as Russia is concerned,” she told reporters.