G20 leaders begin a two-day summit today on the Indonesian island of Bali, which is expected to be marked by disagreements over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This is the first G20 summit since the war in Ukraine began on February 24 this year, and the lack of consensus may be reflected in the joint final declaration, as was the case at the East Asia summit in Phnom Penh on Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not participate in the summit of the 20 most developed economies and emerging countries, where he will be represented by his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.

According to Lusa, Moscow claimed scheduling problems and the need for Putin to remain in Russia to justify his absence.

Although Ukraine is not a member of the G20, President Volodymyr Zelensky was invited by his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, acting chairman of the group, to speak by video conference.

Under the motto "recover together, recover stronger," the summit was to focus on the global risks of the covid-19 pandemic, economic recession and sustained development, as the Indonesian G20 presidency had predicted.

The conflict in Ukraine has, however, created new global problems that should be discussed in Bali, such as the energy crisis or the risk of food shortages, in addition to the war itself.

The summit on the so-called "island of the gods" has already been marked by an unprecedented face-to-face meeting between the presidents of the United States, Joe Biden, and China, Xi Jinping, on Monday.

Other bilateral meetings are planned, such as Xi's with French President Emmanuel Macron, announced for today.

In addition to Xi, Biden, Macron, and host Widodo, presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey), Yoon Suk-yeol (South Korea), Cyril Ramaphosa, (South Africa), and Alberto Fernandez (Argentina) are participating.

The list also includes heads of government Olaf Scholz (Germany), Giorgia Meloni, (Italy) Rishi Sunak (UK), Fumio Ksihida (Japan) and Narendra Modi (India).

Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese (Australia), Justin Trudeau (Canada) and Mohammad bin Salman (Saudi Arabia) are also in Bali, as is the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, in this case as a guest.