The key facts
- The G20 summit will take place on December 14–15, 2026 in Miami; the US invited Putin, Moscow has not made a decision
- The Kremlin will return to the question after the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November
- Kaja Kallas criticized the invitation, while Friedrich Merz linked Putin's arrival to Zelensky's participation
Moscow postpones its decision until after APEC
The United States is interested in Russian President Vladimir Putin personally attending the G20 summit, which will take place on December 14–15 in Miami, but Moscow has not yet decided whether the Russian leader will attend in person. According to Life.ru citing the Russian Foreign Ministry, the final decision will depend on the meeting's agenda, the international situation, and the prospects for productive negotiations.
The invitation and Washington's position
The invitation was officially confirmed in September by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio; at the time, the Kremlin thanked the American side and said the matter was being worked on through diplomatic channels. Donald Trump stated that he would like to see Putin at the summit, but does not know whether he will accept the invitation. On October 31, after a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Atlanta attended by Sergey Lavrov, Rubio once again stressed the importance of Moscow's participation in the work of the 'Group of Twenty'. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov explained the sequence of decisions: first, the Russian side will focus on the November APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, and only after that will it return to the question of the December trip.
Disagreements among Western politicians
Putin's possible participation has already caused disagreements among Western politicians. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas criticized the invitation of the Russian leader: in her view, such a decision could change attitudes toward Russia's presence on international platforms. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in turn, stated that if Putin comes to the G20, it would be necessary to ensure the participation of Volodymyr Zelensky — discussing a Ukrainian settlement is impossible without representatives of Kyiv. At the same time, the final list of invitees is determined by the United States as the host country.
