After a long absence
Putin takes part in the G20 summit again
November 20, 2023, 12:08 p.m
Putin recently had his foreign minister represent him at the G20 summit. But the Kremlin chief will again take part in the meeting on Wednesday in person – even if only virtually. Moscow said he wanted to present the Russian view of the world situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in a summit of the 20 leading industrialized and emerging countries (G20) for the first time this Wednesday after a long absence. At the virtual meeting, Putin will present Russia’s view of what he believes is a “deeply unstable world situation,” the government in Moscow said.
Russian television reported that it was the first time in “a long time” that both Putin and Western leaders would attend an event together. After the invasion of Ukraine, Western states insisted on excluding Putin from top international meetings. The International Criminal Court also issued an arrest warrant against Putin on suspicion of abducting Ukrainian children.
The host of next year’s G20 summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was evasive when asked whether the arrest warrant against Putin would be executed at the planned summit in Rio de Janeiro if Putin arrived. Most recently, Putin was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 summit.