Putin to Attend G20 Summit Virtually, Minister Luhut Hints

TEMPO.CO, Nusa Dua - The head of the G20 Event Organizing Division, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Pandjaitan on Friday reiterated the possibility for Russia's President Vladimir Putin to be present at the G20 Summit virtually. 

“They will likely be virtually present. But we will just see later,” said Luhut as he attended the Net Zero Summit, which is one of the events in the Business 20 (B20) at Nusa Dua, Bali, on November 11, Antaranews reported. 

Reported on Thursday, the minister stated that he had obtained official information from the Russian government regarding Putin's absence at the peak event of the G20 Presidency of Indonesia or the G20 Bali Summit, Bisnis.com reported. 

"No, Putin will not be present. He has conveyed that his Foreign Affairs Minister will represent him," said Luhut in the Nusa Dua area, Bali on Thursday. The Indonesian government, he said, respects the decision of the Russian government, "We respect that (Putin's decision)," said Luhut.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had previously asked Putin to be present at the G20 Bali Summit.

"We hoped that because of good communication it will be able to reduce tensions between Ukraine and Russia," said Luhut.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that he will attend the G20 summit in Bali 'in a certain format', which was conveyed by Presidential Spokesman of Ukraine Sergii Nykyforov.

Indonesia will raise three priority issues at the G20 Summit on November 15-16, namely the global health architecture, sustainable energy transition, and digital transformation.

ANTARA

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