US invites Putin to Miami G20 summit, but Kremlin sources say he is unlikely to attend

Why it matters

The Miami summit would have been Putin's first in-person G20 appearance since 2019 and the first since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and a Trump–Putin meeting there would have been their first since the August 2025 Alaska summit. Zelensky's stated willingness to meet Putin in Miami raised the prospect of direct leader-level diplomacy on the war, but Putin has rejected talks on the summit's sidelines and is reportedly likely to skip it in favour of APEC in Shenzhen. A no-show would underscore the Kremlin's continued reluctance to engage in high-level diplomacy while the war grinds on, and comes amid Bloomberg reports that Russian officials see little prospect of ceasefire progress and are growing disillusioned with Trump's envoys.

What happened

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on 23 September in New York that the United States has officially invited Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the G20 leaders' summit in Miami on 14–15 December. Rubio made the announcement after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly session. He said the United States hopes Putin will accept, that the summit would give Putin an opportunity to talk not only with President Donald Trump but also with other world leaders, and that Trump and Putin have spoken by phone at least ten times since Trump took office. Rubio added that any Trump–Putin meeting should have a concrete goal and result and would require significant preparatory work, and that both sides have expressed interest in a limited ceasefire regarding grain and energy supplies.

On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin is grateful for and welcomes the invitation and will determine its stance through diplomatic channels. He also said Putin is allegedly ready to meet Trump and Zelensky, but only on his own terms and with preconditions in place.

Bloomberg, citing sources close to the Kremlin, reported that the probability of Putin joining the G20 summit in Florida is "very low." The same report said Putin plans instead to visit China to attend the APEC summit on 18–19 November in Shenzhen, chaired by Xi Jinping, which would be his first in-person APEC participation since 2017. Peskov did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment on Putin's likely attendance at the G20. According to the same Bloomberg sources, Russian officials do not expect any progress on a ceasefire agreement before the G20 summit and are increasingly disappointed in Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready to travel to Miami and meet Putin there if Putin attends, but Putin has rejected Zelensky's proposal to hold talks on ending the war on the sidelines of the US summit. Trump, speaking on 22 September at a press conference with Zelensky on the UN General Assembly sidelines, said he does not know whether Putin would agree to a three-way meeting in Miami. Trump and Putin last met in person in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2025. Putin last personally attended a G20 summit in 2019, before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and has skipped G20 summits since.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian outlets give roughly equal weight to Rubio's announcement of the invitation and to Bloomberg's report that Putin is likely to skip the Miami summit. Many highlight Zelensky's openness to meeting Putin in Miami alongside the Kremlin's rejection of such talks, framing Russia's stance as unwillingness to engage in leader-level diplomacy. Coverage repeatedly notes the constraints on Putin's foreign travel, including the 2023 ICC arrest warrant over the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children, and frames the diplomatic backdrop through the ongoing war. Several pieces foreground the Bloomberg-sourced report that the Kremlin sees little prospect of ceasefire progress before the summit and is increasingly disappointed in Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Where reporting differs

Ukrainian sources disagree on the year of the most recent Trump–Putin meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. Forbes Ukraine places the Alaska summit in August of the previous year relative to the story, implying August 2024, while Бабель and other outlets explicitly date it to August 2025. Most reporting, including Rubio's own remarks, is consistent with August 2025.

Background

The United States holds the G20 presidency in 2026 and is hosting the leaders' summit on 14–15 December at a Trump golf resort in Miami. The APEC summit Putin reportedly plans to attend is scheduled for 18–19 November in Shenzhen, China, under the chairmanship of Xi Jinping; it would be Putin's first in-person APEC participation since 2017. Putin's foreign travel is constrained by sanctions, security considerations, and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued in 2023 in connection with the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children, although he has continued to travel to countries including China, India, the UAE, North Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, and the United States (the Alaska summit with Trump in August 2025). Finnish President Alexander Stubb had previously proposed a Zelensky–Putin meeting on the sidelines of the Miami summit.