MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that the G20 member states are divided in their view on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin should participate in the summit that will take place in November in Brisbane, ABC News reported Sunday.
"I've taken soundings and countries are determined to ensure that the G20 remains the premier economic forum for global issues and there is a view that president Putin should turn up and face the international condemnation for its behavior in relation to Ukraine," Bishop was quoted as saying by ABC News.
"The case of the G20, Australia is the host but we don't have the right to rescind invitations that have been sent. That would have to be a consensus view within the G20 and there isn't that consensus," she added.
Australian Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has said earlier that the Russian president was welcome to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Australia. The forthcoming summit is scheduled to take place in Brisbane on November 15 and 16.
The Group of Twenty (G20) is a forum for 19 countries and the European Union, which facilitates international economic cooperation and decision-making, with the G20 leaders meeting annually. The first G20 Leaders' Summit was held in 2008.
