Indonesian President confirms Putin and Xi’s attendance at the upcoming G20 Summit

The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, has confirmed the presence of his Russian counterparts, Vladimir Putin, and Chinese, Xi Jinping, at the next G20 summit to be held in Bali on 15 and 16 November.

“Xi Jinping will come. President Putin has also told me that he will come,” Widodo assured during an interview for Bloomberg news agency.

The presence of the two at the summit raises expectations as it will put them in front of the rest of the international community at a time when they, especially Putin, are being questioned for their stance on the Ukrainian war.

The interest lies mainly in bringing Putin face to face with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, who has confirmed he will attend, and Xi with U.S. President Joe Biden, against the backdrop of rising tensions over the Taiwan issue.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Friday opted not to confirm travel plans for Xi, who has not left the country since the pandemic began.

As for Russia, the Kremlin has confirmed that on Thursday Putin and ‘Jokowi’ talked on the phone about preparations for the summit, but has not specified whether the Russian president will attend the event.

“The rivalry of the big countries is really worrying. What we want is for this region to be stable, peaceful, so that we can generate economic growth and I think not only Indonesia, but all Asian countries also want the same thing,” Widodo emphasized during the interview.

The Indonesian president said that the countries of the world, especially those with the most influence, should focus their efforts on dealing with the current food and energy crisis, as well as the consequences left behind by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Indonesia wants to be friends with everyone. We have no problem with any country. Every country will have its own approach. Every leader has his own approach, but what Indonesia needs is investment, technology to change our society,” President Widodo said.