Putin & Zelenskyy accept invitation to attend G20 summit 2022 in Indonesia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to upcoming G-20 summit in November, which would also have his versary Vlimir Putin in attendance. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who will be hosting event confirmed invitation to reporters on Friday, as war neared its ninth week. Earlier, he h revealed that Russian President h also accepted his invitation to conference during a recent phone call. Notably, this came after western leers asked Jakarta to bar Moscow's participation in conference scheduled for November this year. 

As of now, it is not known if Putin will attend summit virtually or fly to Bali to mark his presence. Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that while Russia was preparing for this year’s G20 summit, it has not yet decided wher Putin will attend in person or virtually. On or hand, no details have been revealed for Zelenskyy's participation as well. Notably, Ukraine is not a part of G-20 group, however, earlier this month US President Joe Biden called for its inclusion in meeting.  

How have leers opined on Russia's attendance?

Canian PM Justin Trudeau and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison have alrey criticised idea of allowing Russian President Vlimir Putin to attend G20 meeting this year. US President Joe Biden also supported expulsion of Russia from G20. In his press conference in Brussels last week, Biden said that he supports removing Russia from Grouping of Twenty Nations (G20). However, China has fully come out in support of Russia after US and European countries raised possibility of expelling Moscow from Group of 20 (G20). Calling Russia an "important member", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin preached to member states, saying that y should uphold "true multilateralism, strengn solidarity and cooperation" and tackle "mounting challenges" in economic fields. In his statement, he backed Moscow, saying that no country has right to remove it as a member.

As war between two ex-Soviet powers nears its ninth week, both sides have exacerbated ir attacks. Amidst death and destruction, United Nations sought to broker an evacuation of civilians from hellish ruins of Mariupol. Ukrainian troops, meanwhile, continue to battle Russia’s vances in south and east where y are aiming to capture Donbas region. Consisting of Luhansk and Donetsk, industrial region is controlled by Kremlin-backed Separatists since Crimean war of 2014. 

(Image: AP)