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Russia’s Vladimir Putin to skip Bali G20 summit, facing cold shoulder over Ukraine
- Missing the event would allow the Russian president to avoid a potential confrontation with Biden or being shunned by EU leaders
- An Indonesian government official said Putin will be represented by Foreign Minister Lavrov, though the Kremlin chief is due to join one of the meetings virtually
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Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Bali next week, an Indonesian government official said on Thursday, as the Kremlin seeks to protect the president from potential high-level tensions over his invasion of Ukraine.
Putin will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Jodi Mahardi, a spokesperson for the Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment affairs, said.
The Russian president is due to join one of the meetings virtually, he said.
Ending months of suspense, Putin’s decision avoids potential confrontations with other world leaders, including US President Joe Biden who has labelled the Russian president a “war criminal”.
The Kremlin also risked Putin being shunned by European leaders at the November 15-16 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Biden in March said Russia should be ejected from the G20 in retaliation for the invasion that has triggered Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and raised fears of nuclear escalation.
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