NEW YORK, Sept. 25: The United States has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December, opening the possibility of a meeting with US President Donald Trump as Washington seeks to revive diplomatic engagement with Moscow.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the invitation on Wednesday after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Rubio said the summit would provide Putin an opportunity to engage with Trump and other world leaders amid geopolitical tensions.
The G20 summit is scheduled for December 14-15 at Trump National Doral Miami. If Putin attends, it would be his first in-person appearance at a G20 leaders’ summit since 2019 and his first such gathering since war started in Ukraine in 2022.
The Kremlin said it appreciated the invitation but had not decided whether Putin would travel to the United States.
“ No decision has been made yet,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, adding that the invitation would be reviewed and coordinated before Moscow makes a decision.
Putin’s possible attendance is likely to draw criticism from Ukraine and several European countries, which oppose efforts to restore Russia’s place in major international forums while the war in Ukraine continues. The European Union has said it will continue to condemn Russia’s actions regardless of whether Putin attends the summit.
A meeting between Trump and Putin in Miami could provide another channel for discussions on the Ukraine war. However, the invitation does not confirm that Putin will attend, nor does it indicate that any formal talks have been agreed.
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