Russia's G20 sherpa says no decision yet on Putin's attendance at US summit

No final decision has been made on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the December G20 summit scheduled to take place in the United States. Russia's G20 sherpa Denis Agafonov announced this at a press conference following a meeting of G20 country representatives devoted to summit preparations.

According to Agafonov, preparatory work within the G20 is continuing as normal, but the specific decision on the format of the Russian delegation's participation — and the president's attendance in particular — will be made later, taking a number of factors into account.

Context of Russia's participation in G20

The question of Russia's participation in G20 events has repeatedly come to the fore in diplomatic discussions in recent years, given the tensions between Moscow and a number of Western countries that are members of the group.

The holding of this year's G20 summit on US soil adds an additional political dimension to the question of the Russian leader's participation, given the nature of bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington.

The final decision, according to Russia's sherpa, will be announced later, as the summit date approaches and preparatory consultations among member countries are completed.