Indonesian president invites Zelensky and Putin to G20 summit

Europe 1 with AFP 3:57 p.m., April 29, 2022

Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced on Friday that he had invited his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and confirmed that he had invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit scheduled for November in Indonesia.

"I invited President Zelensky to attend the G20 summit," the Indonesian president said, suggesting a compromise had been reached.

Strong pressure from Westerners

The Russian president has confirmed that he will participate in the summit scheduled for Bali in November, said the Indonesian leader in a video address.

Indonesia, which chairs the G20 this year, has come under strong pressure from the West, led by the United States, to exclude Russia from the group since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

But Jakarta resisted, arguing that its position required it to remain "impartial" and US President Joe Biden, in particular, had suggested Ukraine's participation to find a balance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a tweet on Wednesday that he had been invited by Indonesia to the summit, after a telephone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart.

Deep divisions of the group of major world economies

Joko Widodo also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

"On this occasion, President Putin thanked Indonesia for the invitation to the G20 summit and said he would attend," he said.

Since the beginning of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine on February 24, Westerners have sought to isolate Russia on the diplomatic scene.

A meeting of G20 finance ministers in April in Washington illustrated the deep divisions of the group of major world economies with the boycott of certain meetings by the United States and several allies, protesting against the participation of Russians.