The presidents of Russia and Ukraine both agreed to attend the G20 summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky have accepted an invitation to attend the conference from Indonesia – the President of the G20.

The decision to invite the leaders of two conflicting countries demonstrates Indonesia’s balancing act as the G20 chair this year, especially in the context that the countries in the group have not been able to agree on a response to the conflict. Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the pandemic COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict had a major impact on the recovery of the global economy. Therefore, he invited the leaders of the two countries to the summit.

“I hope that the war can soon end and there will be a peaceful resolution through negotiations” said Mr. Widodo.

“Indonesia wants to unify the G20. Let there be no division. Peace and stability are the keys to the recovery and growth of the global economy“.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not say whether Putin would attend the conference in person at the end of the year. He added that it was still “too early” to discuss the details of the possibility of the Russian leader meeting the Ukrainian president.

So far, Putin has refused to meet Zelensky, even though the Ukrainian leader has said this is the only way to end the conflict. The two countries are still negotiating a temporary ceasefire and there has been no significant progress on a larger peace agreement.

Russia has been sanctioned by several G20 nations for its military actions in Ukraine. US President Joe Biden also stated his support for Russia’s exclusion from the G20, although some other members objected to this.

Mr. Biden said that if the G20 president is Indonesia and other member countries do not agree to exclude Russia, then Ukraine should be allowed to attend the group’s meetings.

On March 31, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded to calls to exclude Russia from the G20 and insisted the group should not be divided.

“No one has the right to divide the G20“, Wang also said that the G20 should focus on coordinating economic policy and “should not be politicized”.