G20 boycott over Putin would leave floor to Russia and China, UK PM Boris Johnson warns

The British prime minister also says Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he were a woman, calling it a ‘perfect example of toxic masculinity’

Ukraine’s Zelensky says he will attend the G20 summit in Bali depending on who else is attending

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives to attend the Nato summit in Madrid on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:31pm, 29 Jun 2022Updated: 2:10am, 30 Jun 2022

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Wednesday against boycotting a G20 summit in Indonesia in November if Vladimir Putin attends, saying this would hand a “propaganda opportunity to others”.

Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and Jakarta has come under Western pressure to exclude Russia’s president from the gathering after announcing in April he had been invited. The Kremlin has said Putin will attend the November 15-16 summit.

“I would be absolutely amazed if Putin goes in person. He’s a pariah figure,” Johnson told reporters on the sidelines of a Nato summit in Madrid.

“I don’t think he will go. The question is do we as Western countries vacate our seats at the G20 and leave the whole argument to China, to Russia?” he said. “I think if you vacate something like the G20, you risk just handing the propaganda opportunity to others.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on the sidelines of the 6th Caspian Summit in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Wednesday. Photo: Sputnik via EPA-EFE

The British prime minister had earlier said Putin would not have started the war in Ukraine if he was a woman.

“If Putin was a woman, which he obviously isn’t, but if he were, I really don’t think he would’ve embarked on a crazy, macho war of invasion and violence in the way that he has,” Johnson told German broadcaster ZDF on Tuesday evening.