The European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with the German TV channel ZDF on Sunday that she was against a boycott of the G20 summit scheduled for this fall if Russian President Vladimir Putin attends it.
"We have to think very carefully about whether we paralyze the entire G20, so I don’t support it," the president of the European Commission said on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Elmau, Bavaria. "In my opinion, the G20 is too important, including for developing countries," she added.
"I think it’s better to tell Putin what we think of him" von der Leyen said. "One thing is clear: there will be no `business as usual,’" she concluded.
The G20 heads of state and government summit will take place on November 15-16 in Bali.