MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. Indonesia is interested in organizing a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky respectively, on the sidelines of the G20 summit on the island of Bali between November 15 and 16, Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Jose Tavares told TASS on Wednesday.
"The President of Indonesia [Joko Widodo] extended earlier his invitations to presidents of Russia and Ukraine. If they decide to take part in the G20 summit…, then it will be certainly an open possibility to organize this meeting," Tavares said.
"Indonesia is more than ready to provide for the organization of this meeting. We definitely want to see the presidents [of Russia and Ukraine] arriving for the G20 meeting," the Indonesian diplomat added.
Indonesia is ready to reliably ensure the safety of Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attends the G20 summit, Jose Tavares told. "We are ready to reliably ensure it in case the president participates [in person]," the diplomat said in reply to a respective question.
Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak said earlier in the week that Zelensky would attend the G20 summit, but only if Russian President Putin arrives there as well.
The global intergovernmental forum of 19 most industrialized and developing countries plus the European Union (EU), known as the G20 Summit, is scheduled to take place this year on the Indonesian island of Bali on November 15-16.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said speaking at a news briefing earlier this month that there had been no decision as of yet whether President Putin would take part in the G20 summit personally or in the online mode.
Russia’s special operation in Ukraine
The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military in recent months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.
On February 21, President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders. Moscow recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.
Russian President Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.
The DPR and the LPR launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.