The summit, which will be held in Indonesia, will see tensions boil over as allies of Ukraine meet the Russian president at the event, which focuses on unity and strengthening ties. To contribute to the pressure of the forthcoming summit, Indonesia has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite the fact that Ukraine is not a G20 member.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has invited President Putin to the event despite his recent actions in Ukraine and his invitation to Ukraine is thought to have been a sort of compromise.
The Kremlin confirmed Putin’s attendance on Monday with his adviser Yuri Asharov, who told the press that his presence at the summit was “anticipated”, but it was not yet known whether it would be in person or by video.
He added: ‘They are still inviting in person. There is still a lot of time. I hope that the pandemic will allow this event to be held in person. “
Western leaders have long decided whether to boycott the summit on Putin’s attendance, while Ursula von der Leyen told ZDF: “We must consider very carefully whether we are paralyzing the entire G20; I do not advocate it.
“In my opinion, the G20 is too important, also for the developing countries, the emerging countries, that we should let this body be broken by Putin.”
The German chancellor said on Monday he was unsure about attending the G20 and said: “In the end, we will have to make the decision shortly before departure, because the course of the world could change very significantly by then.”
However, I added on Tuesday that “there was great unity here in all the discussions” and “that we do not want to drive the G20 apart.”
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He said: “War must be stopped and global food supply chains must be reactivated.”
The director of the Asia-Pacific program at Chatham House, Ben Bland, said that despite Indonesia’s best efforts to reconnect the two nations, the chances were “very minimal”.
He added: “But as one of the world’s largest developing countries and a friendly partner of both Russia and Ukraine, Indonesia is a major voice on the global stage.”