In fact, Ukraine does not belong to the group of leading industrial countries. But President Zelenskyy will still attend the G20 summit, presumably via video. The Russian President Putin will probably not come to Bali in person, informs the host Indonesia.
According to information from Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the G20 summit next week - but will probably not travel to Indonesia in person. The 44-year-old will most likely be connected to the event via video, Presidential spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov was quoted as saying on Ukrainian television. Selenskyj will definitely take part in some form, emphasized Nykyforow.
The annual meeting of the group of large industrialized and emerging countries (G20) takes place on November 15th and 16th on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali. Also present are US President Joe Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Ukraine is not one of the G20 countries. In view of the Russian war of aggression against his country, which has been going on for more than eight months, Zelenskyj was invited this time.
Meanwhile, it is still unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Southeast Asia or also only participate via video. At the beginning of November, Selenskyj ruled out attending the summit if Putin was in Bali. The office of Indonesian President Joko Widodo said there was a high probability that Putin would not come. But that doesn't mean Russia won't be represented.
Indonesia is chairing the G20 this year. Widodo had invited both Putin and Zelenskyj to the meeting. Selenskyj made his participation conditional on Putin not coming. Widodo confirmed that 17 leaders have pledged. "In normal times there are generally 17 or 18 heads of state or government present. But these are not normal times. So the presence of the same number is a very good thing."
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping shortly. The G20 summit, on the sidelines of which the two could meet, offers an opportunity for this, as the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Monday. Should that happen, it would be the first meeting between the leaders of the two neighboring economic powerhouses since December 2019.
