US rejects 'business as usual' with Putin after G20 invitation
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Following the invitation of Russian President Putin to the G20 summit, the US does not believe it can do "business as usual" with Russia on the international stage.
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US rejects "business as usual" with Putin after the G20 invitation.
The United States stated on Friday that the world cannot deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the same way it used to after Indonesia invited him, as well as Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky, to the Group of 20 summits in November.
President Joe Biden "has expressed publicly his opposition to President Putin attending the G20. We have welcomed the Ukrainians attending," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
"We have conveyed our view that we don't think they should be a part of it publicly and privately," she said.
She stated that the US was in contact with the Indonesians and that the invitation was extended to Russia before launching its special military operation in Ukraine.
Separately, State Department Spokesperson Jalina Porter stated that the US does not believe it can do "business as usual" with Russia on the international stage.
She did not comment on whether the United States would still attend the summit on the resort island of Bali.
Russia, unlike Ukraine, is a member of the Group of 20 (the world's major economies).
Following Western-led appeals not to invite Putin, Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated that the invitation to Zelensky was a compromise.
US frowns on Indonesia's invite to Putin for G20 summit
Indonesia invoked the opposition of the United States Friday with its decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in November, even as the host nation also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Jakarta, which holds the G20 presidency this year, has faced intense pressure from the West, led by the United States, to exclude Russia in the aftermath of its invasion of Ukraine, but it has insisted that it must remain "impartial".
"I have invited President Zelensky to attend the G20 summit," said President Joko Widodo, suggesting a compromise had been reached following pressure from US President Joe Biden and others to allow Ukraine's participation to strike a balance.
Putin confirmed in a phone call with Widodo that he will attend the summit, which will be held on the Indonesian island of Bali, the Indonesian leader said in a live-streamed address.
Russia is a G20 member, while Ukraine is not.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
