Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Bali summit of the Group of 20 and the Russian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Thursday.
"It was decided that Russia will be represented by Sergey Lavrov at the G20 summit," the Kremlin official said.
Earlier on Thursday, Reuters, citing a source in the Indonesian government, reported that, according to Jakarta, the Russian leader may participate in one of the summit’s sessions in an online format.
The G20 summit will be held on November 15-16.
While information from Indonesia suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, an Indonesian government official said Thursday, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over its war in Ukraine.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, head of support for the G20 event, said Putin's decision not to come was "in the best of all of us."
US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will attend the two-day summit starting November 15. The summit will be the first time Biden and Putin have come together at a meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is hosting the event on the island of Bali.
"It has been officially informed that Russia's President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 summit, and will be represented by a high-level official, and this has been discussed by President Joko Widodo and Putin in previous telephone conversations," Pandjaitan said after meeting security officials in Denpasar, the capital of Bali.
"Whatever happens with Russia's decision, it is for our common good and the best for all of us."
Pandjaitan said earlier that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation.
Pandjaitan did not know why Putin decided not to come but said "maybe it's because President Putin is busy at home, and we also have to respect that." Pandjaitan confirmed the same reasons may be keeping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at home as well.
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