According to the Indonesian government, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 summit in Bali.

Instead, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is traveling to the meeting of the 20 major industrial nations on the Indonesian island. This was announced by Jodi Mahardi, spokesman for the Ministry of Investments responsible for coordinating the summit, on Thursday. The Kremlin chief had long left open his participation in the meeting on November 15 and 16.

At the summit, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine will be a central topic. For many, Putin's decision came as no surprise. The Kremlin chief had ordered the invasion of the neighboring country on February 24. Despite international protests, he has annexed four areas of Ukraine in violation of international law. No country recognizes this move.

Indonesian head of state expressly invited Putin

As the host of the summit, Indonesian President Joko Widodo had expressly invited the Russian head of state and said that he was expecting him in Bali. Widodo had also announced a peace initiative for Ukraine. At the summit, Indonesia will invite everyone "to sit down and engage in a constructive dialogue," he said at the end of October.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also been invited to the summit, although his country is not a member of the G20. Zelenskyy said he would not travel to the meeting if Putin attended. This is his "personal position and the position of the country," Zelenskyi said earlier this month. He has repeatedly condemned Russia as a "state of terror" and called for the "aggressor's" exclusion from the G20.

In the group of states, Russia, which has influential supporters such as China, India and also Turkey, is not completely isolated. At the summit, the Russian delegation will meet for the first time on an international stage with the heads of state and government of the G7, who have imposed far-reaching sanctions on Russia because of the war against Ukraine.