Ukraine president says Indonesian leader invited him to G20 summit

UKRAINE'S President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday (Apr 27) on Twitter that his Indonesian counterpart had invited him to attend the summit of Group of 20 (G20) major economies to be held in the South-east Asian country later this year.

"Had talks with President @jokowi... Appreciate inviting me to the @g20org summit," he said in a tweet, referring to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the current G20 chair, by his nickname.

Zelenskiy did not confirm whether he would accept the invitation to the summit on the island of Bali in November. Russia has said its President Vladimir Putin plans to attend.

Indonesia's presidential palace and state secretary's office did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation.

Ukraine is not a member of the G20, but chairs of the grouping have previously invited guest countries. Ukraine's finance minister attended a meeting of G20 finance officials in Washington last week.

The G20 has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which, now in its ninth week, has raised geopolitical tensions, sent shockwaves through the global economy, and sparked a humanitarian crisis.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a special operation.

Several G20 members have called for Russia and Putin to be excluded from the leader's summit, but Indonesia has demurred, saying it is too early to decide.

Asked to confirm Zelenskiy's invitation by the Indonesian president, foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said the foreign minister had been "in consultations" and reported the results to Jokowi.

He did not specify who the consultations were with.

At last week's G20 finance officials in Washington, delegates from the United States, Britain and Canada walked out on Russia's delegates.

Rizal Sukma, a former Indonesian diplomat and political analyst at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the invitation "reflects Indonesia's intention to try to secure the participation of all G20 members to the summit in Bali, and creates an opportunity for Russia and Ukraine to try find ways to achieve peace." REUTERS