Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is likely to attend the G20 summit next week online, but his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is unlikely to take part, officials said on Tuesday.
Zelensky will attend the meeting of the Group of 20 leading world economies, but will probably not travel to Indonesia in person. He will most likely be connected via video, presidential spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov was quoted as saying on Ukrainian television. In any case, Zelensky will participate in some form, Nykyforov said.
Putin on the other hand is unlikely to travel to Bali to attend the G20 summit next week, an aide to the Indonesian president said, potentially resolving a diplomatic dilemma for the summit hosts.
Zelensky said last week that he would not attend the Bali summit if Putin was present. This was his "personal position and the position of the country," Zelensky was reported as saying.
Together with some Western countries, Zelensky, who was invited to the summit although his country is not a G20 member, had called for Russia to be expelled from the G20 group because of the Russian invasion of his country.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo had invited Putin to the summit scheduled for November 15-16 in Bali, but the Kremlin has so far not confirmed the Russian leader's plans.
"There's a strong likelihood that President Putin will not come, but it doesn't mean Russia will not be present. It will be present but it may not be the president," said Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, a member of the president's office.
Several other countries have indicated that they may not participate if Putin attended in person.
Widodo said on Tuesday that 17 leaders had confirmed their participation at the summit.
"During normal times, 17 or 18 [leaders] would be present. This is not a normal time, so the presence of the same number [of leaders] would be a very good thing," he told reporters.
US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are among the leaders expected at the G20 summit next week.
