President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the December G20 summit in Miami, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, the White House’s latest effort to reintegrate Moscow into the world’s diplomatic frameworks as its war against Ukraine drags on.
“We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president, but with other world leaders, Rubio told reporters Wednesday after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation that Putin would attend the event. It could mark the Russian president’s first in-person G20 visit since 2019 and his second trip to the U.S. since Trump returned to office last year.
Russia is showing few signs of slowing down in its war against Ukraine, now well into its fifth year. Its armed forces hammered Kyiv with drones on Wednesday, killing at least two people and damaging major infrastructure sites.