German Chancellor criticizes Putin for refusing to go to G-20

This was reported by Spiegel.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin for refusing to come to the G20 summit in Bali. The German edition quotes the German Chancellor's direct speech:

It would have been nice if President Putin had gone to the G20 summit. But then he would have had to face all the questions and all the criticism that has been formulated by many countries around the world. That is probably why he is not here

Furthermore, Scholz noted that Putin's absence would not prevent other countries from criticising Russia's aggressive war and calling on Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine and create conditions for peace negotiations.

Russia will be represented at the G20 summit by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.