New Delhi: Amid the ongoing war with Ukraine, Russian President Putin has decided to skip the G20 summit, and if reports are to be believed, it is because he fears an assassination attemt.
Reports quoted Russian political strategist and Putin adviser Sergey Markov saying there is a big chance of assassination from the "from the special services of the U.S., Britain and Ukraine."
Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer has told Fox News there have over a dozen probable assassination bids on Putin throughout his tenure as a president. However, he also said that the speculation that the US or British intelligence would hatch a plot is "baseless and part of a "Russian disinformation".
However, the Russian President will join one of the meetings virtually, news agency Reuters cited an Indonesian government official as saying on Thursday.
Indonesia has witnessed pressure from the West and Ukraine demanding to withdraw its invitation to Putin from the leaders' summit and expel Russia from the group over the war in Ukraine. The host nation refused the move saying it doesn't have the authority to do so without consensus among members.
A number of other world leaders are due to attend the summit that starts on November 10, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation representing around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population, it added.
Notably, G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU)
Meanwhile, India will assume G20 Presidency from December 1, 2022 and during its G20 Presiedency duration, the country will hold about 200 meetings in 32 different sectors in multiple locations across the nation.
The G20 Summit to be held next year would be one of the highest-profile international gatherings to be hosted by India.
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