Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky could face off at this year’s G20 summit in Bali after the Ukraine president revealed he had been invited by Indonesian leader Joko Widodo.
Indonesia has found itself caught between a rock and a hard place after assuming the presidency of the global economic forum this year as Western leaders have pushed for Russia’s expulsion.
It faces the threat of a possible boycott if it does not rescind Moscow’s ticket to November’s world leader gathering because of the invasion of Ukraine, a move it has been unwilling to make so far.
However, Jakarta’s hopes of salvaging the summit may be improved if Ukraine, a non-G20 member, is also represented this year and Joko, known as Jokowi, has now reached out to him to attend, Zelensky wrote on Twitter.
“Had talks with President @jokowi… Appreciate inviting me to the @g20org summit,” he said.While Russia has indicated that Putin plans to attend in person, Zelensky did not say whether he intended to travel to the summit. Joko also did not mention the G20 in a Twitter post of his own on Thursday, saying only that he had “reiterated Indonesia’s support to any efforts for peace negotiations to succeed” and that Jakarta stood “ready to provide humanitarian assistance”.
But the invitation comes after United States President Joe Biden said last month that if Indonesia and others could not agree on Russia’s exclusion, Ukraine should also be present.