Russia to attend G-20 summit, Ukraine also invited: Indonesia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his intention to attend a Group of 20 summit on the resort island of Bali in November and that the host nation has also invited Ukraine’s leader to the gathering.

Widodo told a virtual press conference that Putin thanked him Thursday over the phone for Indonesia’s invitation to attend the G-20 summit and said he will come. Some G-20 members have been trying to block Moscow’s participation in the group following its invasion of Ukraine.

The president also said he invited Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a telephone conversation Wednesday to take part in the Bali summit despite the Eastern European country not being a G-20 member.

“We understand that G-20 plays a role as a catalyst in the global economic recovery, and when talking about global economic recovery, there are two major things that will influence it — the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine,” he said.

As this year’s rotating G-20 chair, Jakarta sent the invitation to Zelenskyy as well in such a context, Widodo added. The president said he urges the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine to end the war and seek peaceful solutions.

Screenshot from Indonesia’s state-run TVRI shows President Joko Widodo delivering a video speech at a meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of 20 on Feb. 17, 2022. (Kyodo) 

“Indonesia wants to unite the G-20. We don’t want to see any divisions. Peace and stability are keys for global economic development,” he added.

Among the G-20 members, those belonging to the Group of Seven industrialized nations have imposed a slew of sanctions to isolate Russia from the global financial system, such as by freezing the assets of Putin and the Russian central bank, as well as excluding some major Russian lenders from a key international payment network.

In contrast, Brazil, India, China and South Africa, which along with Russia form the BRICS forum, have supported Moscow’s participation in the G-20 framework.

The G-20 groups Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

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