President Donald Trump has formally invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend December’s Group of 20 summit in Miami, creating the possibility of another face-to-face encounter as the White House renews its push to reduce the fighting in Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly confirmed the invitation Wednesday after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“We’ve invited President Putin to the G20,” Rubio told reporters, according to The Hill. He said the gathering would give Putin an opportunity to engage with Trump and other world leaders.
The summit is scheduled for Dec. 14 and 15 at Trump National Doral Miami. Whether Putin will accept the invitation — and whether he would hold a separate meeting with Trump — remains unresolved.
Trump Has Favored Direct Engagement
The formal invitation follows months of signals from Trump that he wanted Russia represented at the summit.
When asked about the possibility in April, Trump said Putin’s attendance “would probably be very helpful” and argued that international disputes require communication even between adversaries, The Washington Post reported. At the time, however, the administration said an invitation had not yet been issued.
Rubio said Wednesday that Trump’s willingness to speak with leaders he disagrees with was central to the decision. But he cautioned that the invitation should not be viewed as confirmation of another Trump-Putin summit or an imminent diplomatic breakthrough.
“In order to solve problems, you have to meet with people that you disagree with,” Rubio said, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Rubio added that any direct meeting would be more useful if officials first established a clear objective. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov similarly said a Trump-Putin meeting would require advance preparation, according to RFE/RL.
New Push For A Limited Ceasefire
The invitation comes as Trump’s team pursues a narrower agreement aimed at halting Russian and Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Rubio said the administration has discussed the proposal with both sides through U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv is prepared to stop targeting Russian energy sites if Moscow agrees to halt its attacks on Ukraine’s electrical grid.
The proposal would not end the war, but administration officials believe it could reduce civilian hardship and provide an opening for broader negotiations.
Rubio met Lavrov shortly before announcing the G20 invitation. In an official readout, the State Department said they discussed the Russia-Ukraine war and the broader U.S.-Russia relationship. No agreement emerged from the meeting.
Lavrov later said Russia would not suspend its military campaign while negotiations were underway, RFE/RL reported, underscoring the obstacles facing Trump’s ceasefire effort.
A Visit Would Require Special Handling
Putin has been under U.S. sanctions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Treasury Department’s designation blocks his property interests under U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibits transactions involving him unless authorized by the government.
The Trump administration previously made an exception that allowed Putin to travel to Alaska for an August 2025 summit with Trump. It also authorized sanctioned Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to attend a G20 ministerial meeting in North Carolina earlier this year.
Russia has continued participating in G20 activities despite the war. A White House summary of September’s G20 Innovation Ministerial listed the Russian Federation among the participating members.
Putin, however, has not personally attended a G20 leaders’ summit since 2019. Moscow has not yet confirmed who will represent Russia in Miami.
Miami Could Become A Diplomatic Crossroads
The gathering may also create an opening for direct talks between Putin and Zelensky. The Ukrainian president said earlier this month that he would be willing to travel to Miami for a meeting, though the Kremlin responded that Putin’s attendance had not been decided and continued to insist that any meeting with Zelensky take place in Moscow, the New York Post reported.
For Trump, the invitation fits a diplomatic strategy built around personal engagement and high-profile meetings. His 2025 Alaska summit with Putin did not produce a ceasefire, but the president has continued arguing that direct contact is necessary to find a path out of the war.
The next decision belongs to Moscow. If Putin accepts, Trump’s Miami summit could become the setting for the most closely watched U.S.-Russia encounter since Alaska
