Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled his attendance at the G20 Leaders Summit scheduled next week in Bali. The announcement was made public by the Moscow embassy in Indonesia.
Russia’s foreign minister said he’ll be leading a G20 delegation. President Putin’s exact participation is still in the works and could involve him participating virtually.
When Joe Biden was questioned if he would choose to meet with Putin on the sidelines of the summit in Bali, he said he had no intention of doing so. Earlier, Joe Biden also denoted the President of Russia as a ‘war criminal.’
Moscow’s decision to withdraw from the talks suggests the Kremlin is feeling defensive in the wake of the November 15-16 summit, where Russia may face condemnation from Western leaders.
A Russian source with details of their planning for the Bali event confirmed that President Putin would not actually be present in Bali. It is still being determined if he will attend virtually. There are also some speculations that Lavrov might replace Putin and lead the Russian delegation at the G20 summit.
In July 2022, Russia came under intense international scrutiny when an invasion of Ukraine occurred in February. The top diplomats of Moscow walked out of a G20 foreign ministers meeting because officials roundly condemned Russia over the event.
However, the host country, Indonesia, has laid out clear foreign policies, rejecting Western calls not to invite Russia over the latest escalation in armed conflict. They are focusing on a neutral approach.
In August, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced that Vladimir Putin would be invited to the summit despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Once again, this sparked a flurry of condemnation from Western parties.
However, Joko confirmed in the same month that Putin had accepted the invitation of his own accord.
The delegation has also invited the President of Ukraine, Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine is not a part of the G20 member country’s list, but the chair has taken the decision for the sake of good.
Nonetheless, Zelenskyy had already warned that if Putin attends the meeting, he’ll walk out.
While the US President, Joe Biden, has ignored to maintain good relations with Russia, France has forewarned against “ending Putin’s isolation on the world stage.”
On the other hand, Emmanuel Macron has been in talks with Vladimir Putin and got permission to carry out a UN nuclear watchdog mission. The mission will take place in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, which is currently under Russia’s control.
Russia calls its invasion a “special military mission to de-Nazify” Ukraine, and it blames subsequent Western sanctions for the global economic turbulence that set off after the conflict.
This meeting in Bali will commence amid the news of the Russian military facing setbacks in the war. Recently, the Russian army was seen retreating from Kherson city.
However, the Ukrainian administration is keeping this step under surveillance as they doubt that it might be a war tactic.
