Russian dictator putin may participate in the G20 leaders' meeting "if there is consensus among all members" and "if it is beneficial". This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to a statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to France.
"If there is consensus among all members and if it is beneficial, then yes. In the current situation, it is difficult to imagine how this could be beneficial and how consensus could be reached among all participants", - he said.
Responding to a question about a possible handshake between putin and US President Joe Biden, Blinken noted that the idea was never to exclude russia or russian dictator from the G20.
"It is precisely the actions, precisely the policies of russia and putin that drive what happens in terms of russia's relations with the G20 or the G7, with the entire world. Therefore, if the policy changes, we do not exclude a handshake between putin and Biden. The problem is that at the moment we have no evidence that the policy is changing", - the US Secretary of State emphasized.
He also expressed hope that the day would come, "and that day will come sooner rather than later". when relations between our countries and russia would be significantly different from what they are now.
"Unfortunately, this is not the case, and it is not the case because of putin's policy. Russia is not an outcast, and what matters to us is not so much individual personalities as the policy pursued by the country", - Blinken underscored.
In late March, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that russian dictator putin could participate in the G20 leaders' meeting in November in Brazil if it proved to be "useful", but he noted that the invitation to the dictator must be supported by all members of the G20.