Putin’s G20 vow poses a problem for leaders – including ScoMo
Scott Morrison has not confirmed he would boycott the G20 summit in Indonesia if Russian President Vladimir Putin attended.
Scott Morrison says he is “very concerned about sitting across the table” from Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 conference in Indonesia later this year if the Coalition is returned to government, denouncing the Russian leader for being “rightly accused” of “war crimes”.
Mr Putin has confirmed he will attend the G20 conference in Indonesia despite global calls from world leaders demanding his exclusion from the summit.
Speaking in Parramatta on Sunday, the Prime Minister did not confirm he would boycott the summit if Mr Putin attended but said he would be consulting with like-minded countries.
“We don’t know what the situation will be in November of this year and we want to ensure that the G20 is a successful event for Indonesia,” he said. “But we’ve been very clear, the United States has, I have, Canada and others, that we are very concerned about sitting across the table from someone who has been pretty rightly accused of war crimes.”
Anthony Albanese also said he was “concerned about Vladimir Putin’s attendance at the G20”.
“If elected I will be instructing Penny Wong to do the diplomatic legwork with Indonesia as this year’s G20 president and the region to ensure Vladimir Putin is held to account for his atrocities,” he said. “We should be working to ensure a strong and united regional response to Vladimir Putin’s illegal and immoral war in Ukraine.”
He welcomed the invitation from Indonesian President Joko Widodo for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to attend.
Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally said it was important for Australia to attend events like the G20, even if Mr Putin was present.
“It is incredibly important the Australian government is represented at these international forums including the Quad, which is due to meet just after the election,” she said.
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