Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky says Indonesia invited him to G20 summit
- The president thanked his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, but did not confirm whether he would be at the Bali event, which Putin plans to attend
- Some G20 members have called for Russia to be excluded from the leaders’ summit because of the Ukraine invasion, but Indonesia says it is too early to decide
Indonesia’s presidential palace and state secretary’s office did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation.
Ukraine is not a member of the G20, but chairs of the grouping have previously invited guest countries. Ukraine’s finance minister attended a meeting of G20 finance officials in Washington last week.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a special operation.
Several G20 members have called for Russia and Putin to be excluded from the leaders’ summit, but Indonesia has demurred, saying it is too early to decide.
G20 wrestles with response if Putin shows up at Bali Summit
Asked to confirm Zelensky’s invitation by the Indonesian president, foreign ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the foreign minister had been “in consultations” and reported the results to Jokowi.
He did not specify who the consultations were with.
Rizal Sukma, a former Indonesian diplomat and political analyst at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the invitation “reflects Indonesia’s intention to try to secure the participation of all G20 members to the summit in Bali, and creates an opportunity for Russia and Ukraine to try find ways to achieve peace”.