Putin will not attend G20 summit in person, Russian embassy says - CNN

Hong Kong CNN  — 

Russian President Vladimir Putin volition not be successful idiosyncratic a acme of leaders from the Group of 20 nations successful Bali adjacent week, the Russian embassy successful Indonesia told CNN connected Thursday.

Putin volition beryllium represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said Yulia Tomskaya, the main of protocol astatine the embassy.

Tomskaya added that Putin is inactive deciding if helium volition articulation 1 of the meetings virtually.

Putin’s determination not to be the G20 acme successful idiosyncratic saves him the embarrassment of being confronted – oregon shunned – by different satellite leaders implicit Russia’s penetration of Ukraine.

In the pb up to the event, Western countries and Ukraine person pressured Indonesia, the G20 host, to measurement up its condemnation of Moscow and retreat its invitation to Putin for the summit.

US President Joe Biden, who is attending the summit, said successful March Russia should beryllium ejected from the G20. Senior members of his medication person walked retired of G20 events wherever Russian delegates are present.

But Jakarta has resisted the unit and has sought to stay a neutral position. It has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the acme arsenic a guest.

Zelensky has said that Ukraine would not instrumentality portion successful the G20 acme if Putin attends. He is expected to articulation the meetings virtually.

Chinese person Xi Jinping, who met Putin successful Uzbekistan successful September, is besides expected to be the acme and conscionable Biden for the archetypal clip since the American President took bureau astir 2 years ago.