Presidential aide Maksim Oreshkin will lead the country's team in South Africa later this month

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed presidential aide Maksim Oreshkin as head of the delegation that will represent the country at the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa. Neither Putin nor Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be attending the event in person.

A former minister of economic development, Oreshkin also serves as Putin's special envoy for economic cooperation within the BRICS+ group. He is known for his involvement in shaping Russia's economic response to Western sanctions and for helping manage 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. South Africa assumed the rotating presidency of the group in December 2024, becoming the first African nation to lead the forum. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to use his country's chairmanship to advance Africa and the Global South's development priorities.

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. Moscow has praised South Africa's presidency as a milestone for the continent and a constructive step toward strengthening multilateral cooperation.