JAKARTA, Nov 8 (dpa): Russia's Vladimir Putin is unlikely to travel to Bali to attend the G20 summit next week, an aide to the Indonesian president said on Tuesday, potentially resolving a diplomatic dilemma for the summit hosts.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo had invited Putin to the summit scheduled for November 15-16 in Bali, but the Kremlin has so far not confirmed the Russian leader's plans.
"There's a strong likelihood that President Putin will not come, but it doesn't mean Russia will not be present. It will be present but it may not be the president," said Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, a member of the president's office.
Putin's participation in the summit has been highly disputed in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and several countries have indicated that they may not participate if Putin attended in person.
Widodo said on Tuesday that 17 leaders had confirmed their participation at the summit.
"During normal times, 17 or 18 [leaders] would be present. This is not a normal time, so the presence of the same number [of leaders] would be a very good thing," he told reporters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also been invited although his country is not a member.
Zelensky said last week that he would not attend the Bali summit if Putin was present.
This was his "personal position and the position of the country," Zelensky was reported as saying.
Zelensky and some Western countries had called for Russia to be expelled from the G20 group because of the Russian invasion. - dpa
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