Canberra (agencies)
Indonesia, which holds the rotating G20 presidency, will invite Russian President Vladimir Putin and all other leaders to attend the group’s summit later this year, despite Western pressure to exclude him over Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
In response to a question about Putin’s plans to attend the scheduled meeting in Bali, Indonesian Foreign Ministry official Triansyah Djani said that Indonesia would “remain neutral” and would invite all members according to established procedures.
“Our position is absolutely clear,” Dajani said. “We always build our diplomacy on principles.”
The comments came just hours after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested he might boycott the summit if the Russian leader attended, saying that “the idea of sitting around the table” with Putin “for me is a very unlikely move.”