Zelenskyy takes jab at Putin over G20 summit, hopes ‘no occupiers’ will be in attendance

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took a jab at Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday and said he hopes “no occupiers” will attend the upcoming Group of 20 summit this year. 

 Zelenskyy announced Friday that he has accepted the invitation by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to attend the intergovernmental summit scheduled in November, even though Ukraine is not one of the 19 member nations or yet a part of the European Union.

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“We must prevent mass starvation, stop massacres and repressions, forever wean any state of the world from nuclear blackmail. I believe that only friend states, partner states will attend the summit, and there will be no occupiers,” he said in an address to the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. 

Food security, a global problem aggravated by Putin’s war in Ukraine, is expected to be a major issued discussed by leaders of world’s largest economies.

The U.S., EU, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia and China, are set to cover issues relating to global health, increased digitalization of the global economy, climate change and energy security – another issue that has taken on renewed urgency amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Widodo announced last month that he also invited Putin to the summit, given Russia’s usual standing as a G20 member, and claimed the Kremlin head had accepted.

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President Biden has voiced his opposition to Russia maintaining its international positions of power which White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated last month. 

“The president has been clear about his view: This shouldn’t be business as usual, and that Russia should not be a part of this,” she told reporters. 

Zelenskyy said Friday that he is thankful to have been included in the summit and said he believes “the world will have solved all these big problems” come November. 

Russia’s war in Ukraine has lasted for more than three months, displacing millions, killing thousands and causing the greatest security threat to Europe since World War II.

Moscow has said it will not stop its deadly and illegal incursion until it has gained “full control” over not only Ukraine’s eastern regions, but all regions along Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline.

Russia’s naval presence in the Black Sea has led to export blockades and the growing global food crisis as millions of tons of grain have remained holed up in storage facilities.