Indonesia’s Bali is nicknamed the “Island of Gods” for its vibrant beauty that lures tourists worldwide. Its charms will be on display to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in November, too.
The Russian and Chinese leaders plan to attend the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesian President Joko Widodo told Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait in an interview yesterday, the first confirmation that Putin and Xi intend to show up at the meeting of the world’s largest economies.
Key reading:
- Xi and Putin to Attend G-20 Summit in Indonesia, Jokowi Says
- The US-Led Drive to Isolate Russia and China Is Falling Short
- Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Says Indonesia Invited Him to G-20 Summit
- Boris Johnson Says He’d Be ‘Amazed’ If Putin Attends G-20 Summit
- Follow our rolling coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine here.
That presents major challenges for US President Joe Biden and other Group of Seven leaders.
Xi hasn’t left China since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted. His presence in Bali would open up the prospect of a first face-to-face meeting with Biden as China and the US navigate surging tensions over Taiwan.
The G-7 pushed to exclude Putin from the Bali summit. Indonesia resisted, arguing it must stay neutral as host nation, and instead invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a guest as well.
If Zelenskiy comes, Putin risks a confrontation with a leader he’s refused to meet.
Still, the Russian president’s readiness to go to Bali indicates confidence he won’t be an international pariah, underscoring divisions between the G-7 and states in the global south over isolating his country for the invasion.
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