Indonesian President Joko Widodo (29) said on Friday that he has invited his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to the G20 summit, which will be held in Bali in November, where Vladimir Putin has confirmed his participation.
“I invited President Zelensky to attend the G20 summit,” Widodo said, suggesting that an agreement was reached after Western countries pressured him to remove Russia from the group in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
In these discussions, Jakarta justified that its position compelled it to be “neutral”. American president Joe Biden then suggested Ukraine’s involvement to strike a balance.
In a tweet released Wednesday, Zelensky said he was invited to the summit after a phone call with the Indonesian president. The next day, Widodo also met with the Russian leader. “At that moment, President Putin thanked Indonesia for the invitation to the G20 summit and said he would attend,” the host said.
The US today criticized Putin’s presence at the Bali summit. “You can’t pretend that nothing is happening when it comes to Russia’s participation in the international community and international institutions,” said Jalina Porter, deputy spokesperson for the State Department.
Since the beginning of the Russian military offensive against Ukraine in February, Western countries have been trying to isolate Russia diplomatically.
source: Noticias
