G20 host Indonesia has ‘strong impression’ Putin will skip Bali

Russian President Vladimir Putin may miss next week’s G20 leaders summit, his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo and host of the bloc of major economies told media on Monday.
Joko said a conversation with Putin last week left him with a “strong impression” the Russian leader would not attend the meeting in Bali, which is expected to be dominated by tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As G20 host, Indonesia has resisted pressure from Western countries and Ukraine to disinvite Russia from the leaders summit and expel it from the group, saying it does not have the authority to do so without a consensus among all members.
Widodo emphasised in an interview with the Financial Times that Russia remains welcome at the summit, which he feared was being overshadowed by a “very worrying” rise in international tensions.
Indonesia has also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has said he will not take part if Putin does.