The Kremlin said Thursday that a U.S. invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend this year’s Group of 20 summit in Miami is under consideration, amid White House efforts to arrange a meeting between President Trump and the Russian leader.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. invited Mr. Putin to attend the December summit. He implied that Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin could hold a bilateral meeting during the forum.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that the invitation “will be reviewed and coordinated,” but he declined to lay out what the two leaders might discuss at a meeting.
Mr. Trump returned to the White House last year with the promise to end Russia’s war with Ukraine in just a few days. After nearly two years and several U.S.-mediated meetings, the war does not appear closer to a peaceful resolution, with both sides holding fast to key demands.
Mr. Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, traveled to Russia and Ukraine this month to discuss the status of negotiations, but no new trilateral discussions are planned so far.
Inviting Mr. Putin to the G20 summit is likely to be controversial for Mr. Trump’s allies in Europe, who have consistently sounded the alarm over increasing Russian aggression.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday that, while he respects U.S. efforts to broker peace, inviting Mr. Putin to the summit may embolden the Russian leader to pursue aggression in Europe.
“If inviting Putin to the G20 could bring us closer to a just peace, I would be absolutely in favor of it,” Mr. Tusk told reporters in Warsaw. “However, and this is my concern and what my experience tells me, at this stage, Russia might well view it as an encouragement to continue its aggressive policies. That is what I fear.”
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