- Business Insider
VIVA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo conveys Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to attend the G20 summit in Bali November 2022 soon.
"Xi Jinping is coming. President Putin also told me that he is coming," Joko Widodo remarked.
As quoted from The Straits Times on Friday, August 19, 2022, this is the first time it has been confirmed that both countries planning to appear at the summit in November.
The presence of Xi and Putin at the meeting is predicted to create tension with President United States, Joe Biden and other democratic leaders. As known, they will meet face-to-face for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The attack in Ukraine, which occurred shortly after Putin and Xi declared an indefinite partnership, has hampered the G20 due to several interests from the US-led west in the Ukraine attack.
This resulted in the west countries (United States, Ukraine) objection to attending the G20 event if President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin came.
Presiden Jokowi dan Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin di Istana Kremlin, Moskow
- Kremlin.ru
China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Xi's travel plans, who has not traveled overseas since the start of the pandemic.
Besides, a Kremlin spokesman also declined to comment but another official familiar with the situation confirmed that Putin is currently planning to attend the meeting in person.
Putin and Jokowi had previously discussed preparations for the G20 summit in Bali in a phone call, on Thursday, August 18, 2022. The Kremlin said in a statement.
Vladimir Putin's presence could also see him come face to face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the Russian invasion as the Ukrainian president is also scheduled to attend the summit in Bali.
Joe Biden has previously called for Russia to be removed from the G20 after its invasion of Ukraine, and US officials have pressured Indonesia to exclude Putin from the Bali summit.
Tensions are also running high between the US and China, with Biden and Xi even opening the possibility of holding their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the summit in Bali.
Meanwhile, regarding the visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives to Taiwan, China has stopped talks with the US on defense and various other fields. On the other hand, the White House also criticized Beijing's military exercises around the island.
"Competition from big countries is worrying," President Jokowi said in the interview.
"What we want is for this region to be stable, peaceful, so that we can build economic growth. And in my opinion, not only Indonesia, Asian countries also want the same thing," President Jokowi added.
As the current host of the G20, Indonesia has sought to balance relations between the great powers while resisting pressure to exclude Russia from the November meeting.
