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Coronavirus pandemic

G20 virtual summit to be closed to press, Kremlin to share only certain footage

The summit will begin at 15:00 Moscow time

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

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MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The virtual summit of G20 leaders on Thursday will be closed for press, the Kremlin will only share footage demonstrating how the event is technically organized, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

According to him, the summit will begin at 15:00 (Moscow time). "We will show you footage of its technical organization, but it [summit] will generally be inaccessible to press," he said. Peskov underlined that Saudi Arabia, the organizer state chairing G20 this year, chose this format for the event.

Earlier, the Kremlin press service said that on March 26 Putin would take part in the urgent G20 virtual summit focusing on fighting the coronavirus pandemic and its ramifications for the global economy.

On March 18, the Saudi Press Agency reported that Riyadh is planning to convene an urgent virtual G20 summit this week to discuss the coronavirus outbreak. Saudi Arabia is chairing the club this year, the traditional G20 summit is planned to be held in the country in November. According to previous reports, the UN Secretary-General will take part in the virtual summit.

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