Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Maksim Oreshkin, his presidential aide, to lead Russia’s delegation at the G20 summit in South Africa. Neither Putin nor Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be attending the event in person. Oreshkin, a former minister of economic development and special envoy for economic cooperation within the BRICS+ group, is known for his involvement in shaping Russia’s economic response to Western sanctions and for managing trade relations with foreign countries. The Russian delegation will also include Kremlin aides Denis Agafonov and Svetlana Lukash, as well as deputy ministers Aleksandr Pankin and Ivan Chebeskov.
The G20 summit will take place in Johannesburg on November 22-23, with South Africa, the first African nation to lead the forum, focusing on advancing Africa and the Global South’s development priorities. Moscow has praised South Africa’s presidency as a milestone for the continent and a constructive step toward strengthening multilateral cooperation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last month that Putin would not attend the Johannesburg meeting in person. There had earlier been speculation that the summit could prove to be the venue for a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump. However, the US leader has also decided not to make the trip. Trump, who has accused Pretoria of advancing an “anti-American” agenda, has said he will send Vice President J.D. Vance in his place. South Africa has welcomed Trump’s decision to send Vance, saying the gathering will be successful regardless of who represents Washington.