Putin won’t address G20 summit – Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not join the upcoming G20 summit via video link or send a pre-recorded message, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has announced. The official also revealed that Putin had earlier personally made the decision not to attend the meeting because of the “need to stay” in Russia.

When asked by journalists on Friday whether the Russian head of state would extend his greetings to the leaders gathering in Indonesia’s Bali virtually, Peskov said: “No, [this is] not planned.”

He also confirmed that Putin will not participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that kicks off in Thailand’s capital,  Bangkok, next Friday.

Commenting on the reasons why the Russian president will not be traveling to the G20 gathering, the Kremlin spokesperson clarified that Putin had personally made the decision “[which is] connected with his schedule” and the “need to stay in the Russian Federation.”

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On Thursday, Peskov had told reporters that the Russian head of state would not attend the meeting of world leaders in Bali in person. The Russian delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead, he added.

Despite having come under pressure by the US and several other nations to block Putin from attending the summit, Jakarta did issue an invitation to the Russian president.

Western officials insist that Russia should be isolated diplomatically in response to its ongoing operation in Ukraine.

According to media reports, the White House had previously been making special arrangements to ensure that President Biden did not cross paths with his Russian counterpart, should the latter attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is expected to take part in the gathering via video link even though his country is not a member of the organization.