TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Russian Ambassador Lyudmila Vorobieva reiterated that President Vladimir Putin has expressed his intention to attend the G20 summit in Bali slated for November after receiving an invitation from Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Given the considerable time to the summit, Vorobieva said there were several factors that determined Putin's in-person presence. "Nevertheless, as an embassy, we have started preparations for the visit of the Russian president to Bali," she said at a press conference, Wednesday, September 7.

Vorobieva said Russia appreciates Jokowi's invitation to Putin. She added that at the G20 Summit, Russia will fully support Indonesia's global economic recovery agenda.

The G20 summit is scheduled to be held in Bali on November 15-16, 2022. This year's meeting was overshadowed by the global crisis triggered by the Ukraine-Russia war.

In several ministerial meetings, a number of Western countries, including the United States, strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the food and energy crisis. On one occasion, US President Joe Biden suggested Indonesia not invite the Russian President to Bali due to its aggression against its neighboring country.

Instead, Biden once proposed to Indonesia to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. As the host, Indonesia continues to invite President Putin because of the membership precedent.

Despite Ukraine not being a member of the G20, the Moscow invasion and its impact on the world economy show the important role of the country. President Jokowi has directly invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to attend the G20 Summit in Bali in his visit to the war-torn country.

Neither Biden, Putin, nor Zelensky has confirmed whether they will attend the G20 summit in-person or online. The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that the names of the delegates would be confirmed ahead of the event.

DANIEL AHMAD

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News