US President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend this year’s G20 summit in Miami, Florida, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.
Rubio said the invitation would give Putin an opportunity to meet Trump and other world leaders as Washington continues efforts to engage Moscow over the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president but with other world leaders, [and] we hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept,” Rubio said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Rubio defended the decision to engage with Putin despite longstanding disagreements between Washington and Moscow. “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.”
The G20 summit is scheduled to take place in Miami in December. It remains unclear whether Putin will attend.
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while the Kremlin has previously remained noncommittal about Trump’s invitation.
Rubio’s comments came after he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier on Wednesday.
The US State Department said the two officials discussed the “Russia-Ukraine war and the US-Russia bilateral relationship.”
Rubio said a Putin appearance at the summit would give Trump and the Russian president an opportunity to hold talks. “If Putin does attend, that will certainly be an opportunity” for Trump and Putin “to interact and talk.”
The invitation, first signalled by the Trump administration in April, marks a change from former President Joe Biden’s position on Russia’s participation in the G20.
Biden had said he supported removing Russia from the G20, a forum comprising the world’s major economies.
The planned summit comes as Ukrainian and some European officials have expressed concern about direct US engagement with Russia, particularly over the possibility of Washington and Moscow reaching agreements without broader European or Ukrainian involvement.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Putin’s approach to negotiations.
“Does anyone still think that he’s reasonable and moderate?” Zelenskyy asked world leaders, referring to Russian military losses in the war.
Zelenskyy also described Putin as “patient zero” in the spread of war and said: “He must be denied the space to act and the space to spread this evil further.”
Rubio defended Trump’s approach to diplomatic engagement, saying discussions with opponents were necessary if the United States wanted to resolve disputes.
“He’s a businessman who relies more on common sense than he does on political orthodoxy,” Rubio said of Trump.
“If you only meet with people that you agree with, then there are very nice meetings, but nothing happens.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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