JAKARTA, Indonesia | Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit in November, said the leader of Indonesia – who currently chairs this forum of major world economies – in an interview published on Friday.
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The presence of the two heads of state at the summit would coincide with that of US President Joe Biden, while Washington’s relations with Moscow and Beijing are at their lowest, due to the war in Ukraine and tensions around Taiwan.
It was uncertain whether Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi would travel to the Indonesian island of Bali to take part in the talks. Moscow has found itself isolated since its invasion of Ukraine, while the Chinese leader restricts his travels abroad due to Covid-19.
But Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in an interview with Bloomberg that the two leaders would attend the summit in person.
“Xi Jinping will come. President Putin also told me he would come,” Widodo said, according to the report.
Officials in the Kremlin explained in June that Mr. Putin had accepted Mr. Widodo’s invitation, provided that the health situation linked to the pandemic allowed him to attend in person.
Joe Biden is also expected to travel to the summit, but the White House has yet to confirm details of the trip, including whether there will be a separate meeting with Xi in Bali.
The two leaders agreed at the end of July on the principle of a meeting during a telephone interview, which would be a first since the arrival of Mr. Biden in power, but no timetable has been announced.
“I don’t have any President Biden travel announced yet, but as you saw we attended the G20 this year,” said a US National Security Council spokesperson.
“If Putin comes to the G20 then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should also attend,” he added.
Mr Zelensky was invited to the summit by Indonesia, even though Ukraine is not a G20 member, and said he would attend, at least virtually.
Jakarta came under Western pressure to exclude Vladimir Putin from the event following announcing in April that he was invited, but maintained a neutral stance on Ukraine.
Joko Widodo traveled to both Kyiv and Moscow earlier this year.
Indonesian officials said Mr. Widodo’s statements seemed to confirm the presence of the two heads of state.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told AFP that Russia and China “had received the invitation and said they would attend” the summit. This is “something we very much hope for,” he added.
Mr. Widodo’s chief of staff did not wish to comment on the Indonesian president’s remarks and his secretary of state did not respond to a request from AFP.
