President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit in Miami this December, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami this December, potentially bringing the Russian leader back to a major international gathering as the United States continues efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly confirmed the invitation Wednesday after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept,” Rubio said.
Rubio said Trump’s willingness to engage Putin reflects the administration’s view that diplomatic disputes ultimately require direct communication with adversaries.
“In order to solve problems, you have to meet with the people that you disagree with or the people that you might have some issues with,” Rubio told reporters. “So we’ve invited President Putin to the G20.”
Rubio said the gathering could allow Putin to speak not only with Trump but with other world leaders attending the summit.
Putin had not publicly accepted the invitation as of Wednesday.
Russia remains a member of the G20, but Putin has not personally attended one of the group’s summits since 2019. He participated virtually in one session in 2023. The December gathering is scheduled to take place in Miami.
The invitation comes as Trump continues attempting to broker an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Trump repeatedly said during his presidential campaign that he could end the war quickly, at times saying he could resolve it within 24 hours. The conflict has continued despite subsequent negotiations and contacts involving Washington, Moscow and Kyiv.
The administration has increasingly reopened direct diplomatic channels with Russia as part of those efforts, while sanctions and other economic pressure remain central to negotiations over a potential settlement.
Trump and Putin previously met in Alaska, where the two leaders discussed the war and possible paths toward ending the conflict. The Miami invitation would provide another opportunity for face-to-face contact if Putin attends.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Putin remains prepared for another meeting with Trump if necessary but that no specific arrangements for such a meeting had been finalized. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Moscow remains open to peace talks while arguing that conditions for moving onto a negotiating track do not currently exist.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has meanwhile signaled that he is prepared to meet Putin directly if such talks could produce concrete progress toward ending the war.
“We have to come. We have to meet, to speak and make decisions,” Zelensky said earlier this month while discussing the possibility of attending the G20 if Putin were present. “It’s not about words. What I will tell him or what he wants to tell me, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. […] Results matter. That’s it.”
Zelensky has also called for a possible trilateral meeting involving himself, Trump and Putin.
Following a meeting with Trump in New York this week, Zelensky said ending the war remained the priority and that the two sides had discussed potential de-escalation measures, including an energy ceasefire.
Rubio’s meeting with Lavrov Wednesday was another indication that Washington and Moscow are maintaining high-level communications despite the continuing fighting.
Rubio said Trump remains willing to meet with Putin separately from the G20 if sufficient preparation is completed and there is a clear purpose for the meeting.
“Obviously, the ideal would be a meeting in which there will be a result, an outcome,” Rubio said, emphasizing that presidential-level talks would require preparation rather than being held simply for their own sake.
The administration’s outreach to Moscow comes alongside continued economic pressure on Russia. Congress recently approved additional sanctions authorities targeting Moscow and countries purchasing Russian energy, adding another potential source of leverage in negotiations.
Trump’s approach has combined sanctions and diplomatic engagement, with the administration leaving open the possibility that restrictions on Russia could eventually become part of negotiations surrounding a peace agreement.
The December summit could therefore provide another diplomatic venue if Putin accepts Trump’s invitation.
Putin’s presence would also place him alongside leaders of major economies at a forum from which he has largely been absent since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
For now, however, the invitation remains unanswered.
Rubio said Washington sees Putin’s possible attendance as an opportunity for direct engagement over the war and other international disputes.
“We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president but with other world leaders,” Rubio said. “We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept.”
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