It is traditional for world leaders to stand together for an opening photo at the start of summits, usually a source of interesting dynamics as leaders rub shoulders and greet each other in public. But there will be no photo at the Indonesia-hosted summit, which starts next Tuesday – even though Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will not attend. His longtime deputy, Sergei Lavrov, will attend in his place. Lavrov has caused drama at previous summits by walking out of a meeting of foreign ministers after telling his counterparts that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was not to blame for a global hunger crisis and that sanctions aimed at isolating Russia were tantamount to a declaration of war . During the Conservative leadership contest, Rishi Sunak had said he would not attend if Putin was present, although his position has softened since entering No 10 with the G20 his first major presentation to many world leaders. There may have been pressure for other leaders not to attend if Putin had decided to fly to Bali. Western finance ministers walked out of the G20 meeting in April to show their opposition to Russia’s presence. Russia’s inclusion in the G20 means British officials recognize it will be almost impossible for leaders to agree a communiqué at the end of the summit, and none has been agreed at previous economic or foreign affairs meetings. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been invited to speak virtually at the summit. He had said he would not attend if Putin was present. Sunak will use his first speech at the initial meeting of leaders on Tuesday to directly address the Russian invasion and emphasize support for Ukraine. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Last year’s G20 in Rome had an unusual dynamic for the group photo, with so many leaders absent, in part because of lingering concerns about Covid. China, Japan, South Africa and Mexico skipped an in-person appearance. Other ministers attended their posts and the leaders stood at a safe distance from each other rather than shoulder to shoulder.
