The US government has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to the G20 summit in Indonesia in November. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Friday that US President Joe Biden had “publicly expressed” his opposition to Putin’s participation in the Bali meeting. “We conveyed our opinion that we don’t think they should be a part of this.”
A US State Department spokeswoman said there could be no return to normality in negotiations with Russia “in the international community and international institutions” in view of the war in Ukraine. “The US continues to believe there can be no business as usual.”
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Friday that Putin would attend the G20 summit in Bali and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also invited. Indonesia holds the presidency of the top 20 industrialized and emerging countries this year. The invitation from Ukraine, not a member of the G20, is seen as a kind of commitment for Indonesia not to uninvite Russia, despite pressure from Western countries.
Biden’s spokeswoman, Psaki, said the United States would “receive” Ukraine’s participation in the summit. Last week, Ukrainian representatives attended G20 meetings on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington. Representatives from the US and other countries left the room several times at meetings where Russian representatives spoke. (apa, dpa, Reuters)