Bloomberg: Putin will not go to the G20 summit in Bali, instead of him will be Lavrov

Author:
Anhelina Sheremet
Date:

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not take part in the G20 summit, which will take place on November 15-16 on the Indonesian island of Bali.

This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to sources familiar with the plan.

In this way, the Kremlin seeks to protect Putin from potential high-level tensions and confrontations over the invasion of Ukraine. Instead of Putin, Russia will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

US President Joe Biden said in March that Russia should be expelled from the G20 over its invasion of Ukraine, but Indonesian President Joko Widodo refused to withdraw Putinʼs invitation as his country sought to maintain a neutral position. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is likely to take part in the summit online.

Widodo told Bloomberg in August that Putin had confirmed his participation, although the Kremlin has never publicly said whether the Russian leader will travel to Bali or participate via video link. Russian officials had hoped that the summit would allow Putin to establish informal contacts with his American and European counterparts, but this is unlikely to happen.