April 27 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnksy said Wednesday that Indonesian President Joko Widodo invited him to join this year’s Group of 20 summit.
Zelensky wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Widodo, who holds the presidency for the 2022 G20 summit, and thanked him for extending an invitation to the meeting of world leaders set to take place in the Indonesian city of Bali in mid-November.
“Appreciate inviting me to the [G20] summit,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky added that the two talked about food security issues, and Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity “in particular for a clear position” in the United Nations as it fights a war with invading Russia.
Russia’s ambassador to Indonesia, Lyudmila Vorobieva, said last month that Russian President Vladimir Putin may attend the meeting, adding that his participation will “depend on many, many things, including the COVID situation.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that Putin would decide on his plans closer to the meeting.
“Indonesia is the presiding country and the organizer,” he said. “Naturally, we will be oriented towards the organizers in the first place. A future decision regarding participation will be made based on how the situation develops.”
U.S. President Joe Biden and other allies have called for Russia to be expelled from the G20 in response to the invasion while suggesting that Ukraine at least be allowed to join the summit.
“If that can’t be done, if Indonesia and the others do not agree, then we should, in my view, ask to have both Ukraine be able to attend the meetings, as well as … observe,” Biden said in a press conference last month.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen walked out of a G20 session along with European and Western officials last week as Russia’s finance minister began speaking last week.
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