Putin's absence from G20 summit is sign of weakness, fear and isolation - diplomat Shcherba

He expressed his opinion on Espreso TV. 

The diplomat commented that Russia will be represented at the G20 summit not by Russian President Putin, but by Foreign Minister Lavrov: “Of course, Putin was scared, because he receives such slaps from Ukraine's Armed Forces, that slaps would be even more painful for Putin on the international stage. In addition, he would have to go through what Lavrov went through at the meeting of the G20 foreign ministers. In addition, the shame of Russia that Lavrov experienced at the previous meeting will continue at this summit as well.”

Oleksandr Shcherba noted that the absence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at this summit is understandable due to the war, besides, Ukraine is not a member of the G20, so Zelenskyy would only be a guest at the summit.

“Russia is a member of the G20 and the absense of its leader at the summit is a sign of weakness, fear, shame and isolation that Russia has fallen into due to its shameful decisions. Membership in the G20 is determined by the level of economic development of the country, the size of the budget, so let's hope that as a result of this war, the level of the economy and the budget of the Russian Federation will fall to such a level that the presence of this state among the more or less developed countries of the world will be meaningless,” Shcherba concluded.