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Joko Widodo, who is this year's chair of the bloc of major
economies, said Putin during a phone conversation last week had
not ruled out attending the summit in Bali, and would join if
possible.
"But if not ... maybe he'll ask to do it virtually," Jokowi, as
the Indonesian president is popularly known, told reporters
during a visit to Bali. He did not elaborate.
The Financial Times newspaper earlier quoted Jokowi as saying
that his conversation with Putin had left him with a "strong
impression" he would not attend.
The Bali meeting is expected to be dominated by tensions over
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special
operation".
The Indonesian foreign ministry and presidential palace did not
immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.
As G20 host, Indonesia has resisted pressure from Western
countries and Ukraine to disinvite Putin from the leaders summit
and expel Russia from the group, saying it does not have the
authority to do so without consensus among members.
Jokowi in an interview with the Financial Times said Russia was
welcome at the summit, which he feared would be overshadowed by
a "very worrying" rise in international tensions.
"The G20 is not meant to be a political forum. It's meant to be
about economics and development," he was quoted as saying.
Indonesia has also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy, who has said he would not take part if Putin does.
Several other world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden
and Chinese President Xi Jinping, are expected to attend.
(Additional reporting by Ananda Teresia and Stanley Widianto;
Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Gerry Doyle, Martin
Petty)
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