The Kremlin confirmed that it received an invitation for President Vladimir Putin to participate in the upcoming G20 summit. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated, “We heard the relevant invitation; we are thankful to the American side for it, we welcome this invitation, and we will make a decision and then work on the topic through diplomatic channels.”
Serhiy Kyslytsia, the first deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, urged caution regarding the invitation extended to Putin. He noted on the social media platform X that Putin has received invitations as a G20 member for the last five summits (2021-2025).
Kyslytsia emphasized that while Russia remains an official invited member of the G20, Putin has largely been absent from in-person summits since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, typically sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or participating online instead.
If Putin attends the G20 summit scheduled for Miami, it would mark his first personal appearance at such a meeting since the invasion began in 2022.
Context
- On September 23, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the U.S. invited Putin to participate in the G20 summit in December. “We believe this is an opportunity for him to engage not only with President Trump but also with other world leaders. We hope he accepts this invitation,” Rubio added.
- Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his willingness to meet personally with Putin in the U.S. during the G20 summit, should he attend.
- According to Bloomberg, citing sources close to the Kremlin, Putin is likely to skip the G20 summit where Trump will be present, as he generally avoids multilateral forums where there is a risk of confrontation with Western allies of Ukraine from Europe and countries like Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
