MOSCOW: To avoid a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over its war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, a government official in that country said on Thursday.

The two-day summit in Bali, starting November 15, will see participation from world leaders including US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and others. Biden and Putin were to meet at the summit for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead the delegation, according to Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, head of support for G20 events, who made the announcement to reporters in Denpasar, Indonesia.

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President Putin himself told President Joko Widodo about the decision of the Russian government in a very cordial telephone conversation, and the Indonesian government respects that decision, according to Pandajaitan, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment.

"We hope that good communication between the two leaders can defuse tensions between Russia and Ukraine," said Widodo, who is hosting the G20 with Pandajaitan.

It is still unknown whether Lavrov will represent Russia at all three summits in Southeast Asia this week and next; The G20 is the biggest.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit began in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Thursday. The G20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit then took place in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Vice President Kamala Harris will visit APEC while Biden will attend ASEAN and the G20.

Had he attended the summit, Biden had said he would not meet with Putin and that his only talks with the Russian president could be to discuss a deal to release American prisoners.

Officials in the Biden administration claimed they were working with international partners to isolate Putin if he had chosen to participate physically or virtually. He has talked about boycotts and other forms of protest.

Putin's decision to leave the G20 coincides with a series of significant setbacks for Russia's forces in Ukraine. According to Russian military statements, Ukraine's only territorial capital, which is controlled by Russia and the gateway to the country's occupied Crimean peninsula, Kherson, will be abandoned.

According to Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, the two countries may have an opportunity to negotiate a peace deal as a result of Russia's announced withdrawal from Kherson and a possible winter conflict in the fighting.

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He claimed that the war, which is now in its ninth month, has resulted in 40,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine and "well" more than 100,000 casualties among Russian troops. The same likely applies to the Ukrainian side, Miley continued.