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Russia’s Putin will not attend G20 summit in Bali

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency in Moscow on Nov 9, 2022. (SERGEI BOBYLYOV / SPUTNIK / AFP)

JAKARTA – Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend a gathering of leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) nations on the resort island of Bali next week, Indonesian and Russian officials said on Thursday.

Putin will instead be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to join one of the meetings at the summit virtually, said Jodi Mahardi, a spokesperson for Indonesia's Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs

The Russian president is set to join one of the meetings at the summit virtually, said Jodi Mahardi, a spokesperson for Indonesia's Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs.

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As G20 host, Indonesia has resisted pressure from Western countries and Ukraine to withdraw its invitation to Putin from the summit and expel Russia from the group over Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

A spokesperson at Russia's embassy in Indonesia confirmed Putin would not attend the summit, but did not provide further explanation.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo had been attempting to mediate the geopolitical friction between powers in the G20. 

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"(The president) has tried to ensure that everyone cools down and that seems to be happening now," Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan told local media in Bali.

The president, who is widely known as Jokowi, in a recent interview with the Financial Times said Russia was welcome at the summit.

"The G20 is not meant to be a political forum. It's meant to be about economics and development," he was quoted as saying.

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Indonesia has also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has said he would not take part if Putin does and was expected to join virtually.

A number of other world leaders are due to attend the summit that starts on Nov 15.