Putin to participate in online G20 summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a video address to the summit of the G20 leaders. Leaders of the Group of Twenty are expected to discuss global economy and finances, climate agenda and digitalization. They will also sum up the results of India’s presidency in the group. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president will deliver Russia’s position on "the current situation, which is very, very turbulent." The virtual G20 meeting is expected to facilitate effective implementation of various decisions, made during the September summit. The Indian side expects as many leaders as possible to attend. On Tuesday, Putin participated in another online summit, this time of the BRICS group of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to discuss the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his speech, the president urged the international community "to join forces in order to ease tensions, ensure a ceasefire and find a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

G20 summit

Wednesday’s summit will be the second top-level G20 event this year. The previous one took place in New Delhi on September 9-10. The Russian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Traditionally, G20 summits are held once a year, but this year Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested a virtual summit to consider proposals voiced in September. The meeting will become the final event of India’s presidency in the group. New Delhi will retain the status until November 30, 2023, when it will be succeeded by Brazil.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      G20 comprises Australia, Argentina, African Union, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, China, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Turkey, South Africa, France and Japan.