US invites Putin to attend December G20 summit in Miami, Russia 'appreciates' it & will make decision

The United States has formally invited Russian president Vladimir Putin to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit set to take place in Miami in December 2026, but Russia has yet to make a decision.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters about the invitation on Sep. 23 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering.

"We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with [U.S. President Trump] but with other world leaders," Rubio said. "We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept."

The G20 is an annual forum bringing together many of the world's largest economies. Apart from the U.S. and Russia, it also involves the European Union, China, India, and the United Kingdom.

If Putin attends in December, it would be his first in-person appearance at the forum since 2019, and the first since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

He had skipped the summits, and other Russian officials went in his place, according to The New York Times.

Putin and Trump also have not met since their summit in Alaska in August 2025.

To solve problems

Explaining the invitation, Rubio said, "If you only meet people that you agree with, then these are very nice meetings, but nothing happens."

"In order to solve problems, you have to meet with people you disagree with or the people you might have some issues with."

He added that he believes that Trump and Putin have spoken "at least a dozen times" on the phone since Trump came into office in January 2025, and the U.S. will remain open to engaging with Russia.

The aim would be to reach a "result" or "outcome" through a meeting between the two leaders.

Speaking about the war between Russia and Ukraine, Rubio said that while the U.S. wants the war to end, only a "negotiated agreement" could stop the fighting.

"The sooner we can reach that agreement, the less things will be destroyed, and the less people are going to die on both sides. That’s what [Trump] wants," he added, as quoted by The New York Times.

Russia's response

On Sep. 24, a spokesperson from the Kremlin said no decision had been made about whether Putin will take part in the December G20 summit, Russia’s RIA Novosti reported.

"We certainly appreciate this kind invitation, we value it, and it will be reviewed and coordinated, after which an appropriate decision will be reached."

Other countries' response

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier in September that if Putin was attending the December summit, he would be ready to travel and meet Putin there, The Guardian reported.

“We have to come. We have to meet, to speak and make decisions,” he said then, adding that what matters most is not the words between them, but results.

But some  European leaders have reacted strongly against the decision to invite Putin to the summit.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he feared Russia would view the invitation as "encouragement to ​continue ‌its aggressive policies," as quoted by The Guardian.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said it was "really very, very hard to understand this treatment of [Putin]".