Europe1 .fr with AFP 5:25 p.m., June 27, 2022
The Kremlin adviser announced on Monday that Vladimir Putin intends to attend the G20 summit in Bali on November 15 and 16.
Western countries, led by the United States, are however putting pressure on Indonesia, which holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, to exclude Russia from this meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the November G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, after receiving an official invitation, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov announced Monday.
"We have received the official invitation (...). And we have responded positively by saying that we are interested in participating," Yuri Ouchakov told the press.
He said, however, that there was still "a lot of time" before the summit scheduled for November 15-16, suggesting that the format of Russian participation could be changed.
"But, for the time being, the invitation is (made) for a participation in person", underlined Yuri Ouchakov.
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Last October, Vladimir Putin took part by videoconference in the G20 summit in Rome, due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus.
Jakarta sparked controversy by inviting Russia to the summit of the 20 most developed economies, despite accusations of war crimes weighing on it, after the launch of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24.
Pressure from Western countries to exclude Russia
Western countries, led by the United States, are putting pressure on Indonesia, which holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, to exclude Russia from this meeting.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for her part declared on Sunday that she was in favor of Western participation in the next G20, despite the probable presence of the Russian president.
"I think it's best to tell him to his face, if he comes, what we think," she said.
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Indonesian Head of State and G20 President Joko Widodo will travel to Russia on Thursday, after a trip to Ukraine also scheduled for this week.
He will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow, after representing Indonesia as a guest country at the G7 summit in Germany on June 26-27.
He will be the first Asian leader to visit both countries since the start of the conflict.
According to Yuri Ouchakov, the Kremlin expects "substantial" discussions between Vladimir Putin and Joko Widodo, in particular on "different aspects of the international situation taking into account the Ukrainian factor".
Jakarta has also invited Ukraine as a guest country to the G20 summit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky replied that he would participate, at least by videoconference.