Kremlin confirms Putin will skip G20 summit in Indonesia

Moscow, Nov 10 (EFE).- Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit of the leaders from the G20 nations in Indonesia next week, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Instead, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia at the G20 gathering on the island of Bali.

“The decision has been made that Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia at the G20 summit,” Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov told the official TASS news agency.

The G20 summit will be held on Nov.15-16.

Indonesia, the G20 host this year, had earlier announced that the Russian president would not be present at the summit.

However, it is unconfirmed if the Russian president will participate in the G20 meeting via videoconference.

Several world leaders have confirmed their participation at the summit of the group of the most developed and emerging countries, including United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Moscow had earlier said Putin would not be attending the summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to be held in Cambodia from Nov.11 to 13.

Lavrov will also take part in the 17th East Asia Summit in Cambodia this weekend, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters on Wednesday.

The war in Ukraine, the rivalry between the US and China, food and energy insecurity, and climate change are some important issues that will dominate the G20 summit and other meetings to be held in Asia over the next few days.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to the G20.

He had previously declined to attend in person if Putin was there. He is scheduled to speak at the APEC meeting in Phnom Penh via videoconference. EFE

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