Both Zelensky and putin invited to G20 summit: President’s Office response

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who was invited to the autumn summit of the G20 in Indonesia, will decide on the necessity of his visit closer to the date of the event

Adviser to Head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podoliak stated in an interview with the BBC.

As the advisor noted, the Head of State believes he should be on the territory of Ukraine.

In addition, today, online formats allow you to work effectively at any summits, Podoliak clarified.

He noted that if russian president vladimir putin is present at the summit, Ukraine will need to consider the need for a representative of Ukraine to be present.

According to Podoliak, the presence of putin at any summit indirectly means that the organizers legitimize the position of russia, which attacked a sovereign state.

"You seem to let everyone else know: look, we believe russia had the right to come and kill Ukrainian children. We must treat it like this," he emphasized.

The adviser to Ukraine's Chief-of-Staff calls to give russia the legal status of "country-sponsor of terrorism" or "terrorist country."

This status will significantly limit the possibilities for russia's formal presence at any summits and negotiations.

One of the russian propaganda media quoted a statement from putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said there are currently no prerequisites for a meeting between putin and Zelensky at the G20.

What is known about the participation of russia and Ukraine in the G20?

After russia's full-scale invasion, US President Joe Biden declared that russia should be expelled from the G20.

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau also stated this.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen even said that her country would not participate in meetings of the G20 countries if the russians were there.

In April, Bloomberg reported that although Indonesia refused to withdraw vladimir putin's invitation to the summit, the United States and other Western countries began urging it to invite Ukraine there.

The summit's host country has the right to invite several states to join some aspects of the event as observers. However, these countries usually do not participate in official discussions.

In the end, Volodymyr Zelensky was invited to the summit after all, and he accepted the invitation.

To recap, the Chairman of the G20 and the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, invited the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to participate in the G20 summit.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine's participation in the G20 summit would depend on the security situation and the composition of the summit participants.

As Rubryka reported, during the meeting in Bali, diplomats from the G20 countries couldn't find a common language regarding russia's war in Ukraine and agree on how to deal with its global consequences.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and russian foreign minister sergey lavrov demonstratively ignored each other when they were present in the same room.

To tread a neutral path, this year's G-20 president, Indonesia, has set out a plan that is not inherently divisive of a political nature.

The country has tried to remain neutral on russia's invasion of Ukraine, and President Joko Widodo has been cautious in his comments.