The United States is considering inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 leaders? summit scheduled for December at President Donald Trump's golf resort in Miami, although Washington says no formal invitation has been issued yet. According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration has made clear that Russia, as a G20 member, remains eligible to participate in both ministerial meetings and the summit itself.
A senior US administration official, speaking anonymously during a media briefing, said that ?Russia is welcome to attend all G20 meetings? as the United States works toward what it describes as a productive and successful summit. The official added that while no official invitations have been sent so far, Russia will be included as part of the standard G20 process.
Asked about the issue in the Oval Office on April 23, Trump said he was not personally aware of any invitation already being sent to Putin, but indicated he would support such a move. ?If he came it would probably be very helpful,? Trump told reporters. He added that he believes in maintaining dialogue, saying he is ?of the opinion that you talk to everybody.? At the same time, he admitted he was unsure whether Putin would actually choose to attend.
The Washington Post noted that Putin has not appeared in person at G20 meetings since 2019. First, the COVID-19 pandemic limited international travel, and later Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, along with the International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Putin, further complicated his participation in major international forums.
Russian officials, however, claimed on April 23 that an invitation had already been extended. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow would decide later how it would participate, stating that ?a decision on the format of our participation will be taken closer to the summit.? Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Pankin also said the invitation had been made ?at the highest level,? though he stressed that no final decision had been taken because the summit is still months away.
The discussion comes shortly after Trump revealed that he had held what he described as a ?very good? phone call with Putin in March. According to Trump, the conversation covered both the war in Ukraine and rising tensions in the Middle East. The call also came around the same period when Trump announced plans to ease oil sanctions on what he referred to as 'some countries,? adding another layer to the broader diplomatic signals between Washington and Moscow.
