It’s shaping up to be a landmark economic summit, a potential showdown between warring countries, and a face-to-face confrontation of long-term international rivals all rolled into one.
And it’s likely to be among the most delicate geopolitical balancing acts President Biden has faced so far in his 18-month tenure.
November’s G-20 meeting in Indonesia, while still four months away, has already become a white-hot topic in Washington, Beijing, Moscow, Kyiv and Jakarta. With Russian President Vladimir Putin slated to attend and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also on the invite list, some foreign policy analysts say it’s possible that the forum could offer a chance for the two nations to hash out a cease-fire agreement — assuming the conflict is still raging by November and the representatives from the two parties agree to talk to one another.