EU’s von der Leyen wants G20 summit with Putin

The head of the European Union’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen, has spoken against a boycott of the upcoming G20 (Group of Twenty) summit if the Russian President Vladimir Putin were to attend the meeting.

Ursula von der Leyen.

PAP/EPA/Sean Gallup

Von der Leyen’s words came in an interview with German state broadcaster ZDF on Sunday evening, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 (Group of Seven) Leaders’ Summit in Elmau, Germany, the European Commission president said that the G20 get-together would not represent a return to “business as usual.”

She added it was important to tell Putin “to his face” what fellow G20 leaders thought about him and his policies.

Von der Leyen said that the G20 was “too important” a format, also for the developing countries, to let Putin “spoil it.”

European Commission President @vonderleyen opposes a boycott of the autumn G20 summit if Vladimir Putin participates in it, she said in an interview with the German ZDF TV channel. pic.twitter.com/1tpgJ6vqCO

— David Kime (@CyberRealms1) June 26, 2022

The G20 brings together the world’s largest industrialised and developing nations. Its next summit will take place in mid-November on the Indonesian island of Bali.

With Russia being a member of the G20, Putin’s participation in the summit is a possibility, the PAP news agency reported.

Monday is day 124 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

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Source: PAP, rmf24.pl