WASHINGTON, April 24 — The United States will extend an invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a G20 summit in Miami, a US official said Thursday, though President Donald Trump said he doubts the Russian leader will show up.
WASHINGTON, April 24 — The United States will extend an invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a G20 summit in Miami, a US official said Thursday, though President Donald Trump said he doubts the Russian leader will show up.
The invitation would signal a notable softening of Western isolation efforts against Putin, who has largely been sidelined by Western nations following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but has maintained a working relationship with Trump.
The United States, this year’s G20 host, is planning a high-profile summit in December in Florida, which Trump has described as a major diplomatic event.
“All G20 members will be invited to attend ministerial meetings and the leaders’ summit,” a senior Trump administration official said in a statement.
However, when asked later by reporters, Trump said he was not aware of any specific invitation and expressed doubt about Putin’s attendance.
“I don’t know that he’s coming. I doubt he’d come, to be honest with you,” Trump said.
Despite this, Trump said he supported the idea of including Putin, adding, “If he came, it would be probably very helpful.”
He also criticised former president Barack Obama for expelling Russia from the then G8 following Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, calling it a mistake that offended Putin.
“President Putin, he was very offended by that — rightfully,” Trump said.
Trump had previously hosted Putin in Alaska in August, marking the Russian leader’s first visit to Western soil since the start of the Ukraine war. Since returning to office, Trump has pushed to restore ties with Moscow in an effort to end the conflict.
Although he initially claimed he could end the war within 24 hours, his diplomatic efforts have so far produced limited progress, despite multiple rounds of talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Trump has also frequently blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not agreeing to territorial concessions.
The Kremlin said earlier Thursday that no decision has yet been made regarding Putin’s attendance.
“No such decisions have been made yet,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow.
Russia has reportedly been invited at the “highest level” to the December 14–15 summit in Miami, according to Russian state media quoting Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin.
Putin has not attended a G20 summit since 2019, first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later because of the Ukraine war. In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him, limiting his international travel to countries not bound to detain him. The United States is not a member of the ICC. — AFP
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