Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to come to Bali for the Group of 20 (G20) Summit hosted by Indonesia later this year, the nation’s envoy in Jakarta proclaimed on Wednesday, despite growing calls from the West to kick Moscow out of the global economic forum over its ruinous war in Ukraine.

Russia sent one of its biggest deployment of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a “special operation” to chip away at its neighbor’s military capabilities and root out people it said were dangerous nationalists. But Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance against Moscow, followed by sweeping sanctions by the West and its allies in a bid to force Putin’s hand to retreat.

This has put first-time G20 president Indonesia in the difficult position of welcoming an increasingly isolated leader who ordered the widely criticized invasion, which has pushed global economic recovery from COVID-19 back to the brink of uncertainty, potentially taking the focus away from Jakarta’s own priorities for the club of the world’s largest economies.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobieva underlined the fact that Russia was still invited to the G20 Summit despite “horrible pressure” from Western countries, and said its delegation would continue to participate in various events in the lead-up to the highly anticipated meeting.

“It will depend on many things including the [improving] COVID-19 situation, but so far, yes [...] he wants to come,” Vorobieva said in response to a question from the press.

Jakarta and Moscow have been preparing for Putin’s visit to Indonesia for years, as he has yet to reciprocate President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s visit to Sochi in 2016. His last visit to Indonesia was during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bali in 2013.

The two sides had also planned to cohost the biggest Russian trade exhibition to take place beyond its borders, which would have been part of Indonesia’s G20 agenda this month if it had not been postponed again.

Confirmation from Vorobieva came following reports that the United States was mulling the possibility of pushing Russia out of the G20, with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly saying that his country was planning to consult with its allies before making any pronouncements.

“We believe that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in international institutions and in the international community,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Over the past few weeks, officials from Western nations have publicly questioned and privately probed the possibility of excluding Moscow from the global economic forum.

Vorobieva said the West’s move to further isolate Russia from various international fora, on top of the imposition of various economic sanctions, was “absolutely unproportional” and full of hypocrisy and double standards.

“We are very appreciative of the firm position of the Indonesian government; [...] indeed the G20 is not a forum to discuss or to solve this kind of crisis,” the envoy said.

She was also hopeful that Jakarta would not give in to pressure.

The government has repeatedly insisted that it was the G20 mandate to discuss economic cooperation in response to global economic issues, and that there were many other forums better suited to responding to Ukraine’s invasion, such as the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly.

However, mounting criticism over the lukewarm responses of countries like Indonesia and India on the invasion have eventually spilled over into G20 proceedings.

Last week, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi held talks with counterparts from the Group of Seven (G7), a mini clique of the most advanced economies within the G20, as well as with other group members including China, Saudi Arabia and India – all to discuss how to best respond to the Ukraine crisis.

In those telephone conversations, Retno reiterated Indonesia’s principled position of respect for international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that all parties must guarantee humanitarian access and safe passage for civilians, according to a recent briefing by her chief of staff Achmad Rizal Purnama.

“In consultations between the foreign minister and her G20 counterparts, as well as between [Jokowi] and several G20 leaders, the conclusion was that the Ukraine issue can never not be discussed, because, of course, this is a global problem that has had a tremendous impact on the global economy,” he said.

Jakarta has condemned the hostilities but has tiptoed around any pressure to antagonize Moscow, at the behest of Kyiv.

Separately, China has also expressed its support to continue engaging Russia in the G20, stating that it remained “an important member” of the group. “The G20 is the main forum for international economic cooperation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, as quoted by Reuters.

“Russia is an important member, and no member has the right to expel another country.”

After Indonesia, the next G20 presidency will go to India, a fellow founder of the Non-Aligned Movement – as well as the only member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue that had yet to condemn Russian aggression, to the annoyance of the US, Japan and Australia.

India has called for an end to the violence in Ukraine but has not condemned Moscow, a major supplier of its military equipment.

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