Trump invites Putin to December G20 in Miami — SkimNews
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- Marco Rubio told reporters the Trump administration has invited Vladimir Putin to the December G20 summit in Miami, saying it offers Putin a chance to engage not just with Trump but "with other world leaders."
- Rubio made the announcement shortly after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, citing the principle that "in order to solve problems, you have to meet with the people that you disagree with."
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the same UNGA session, called on nations to curb trade with Russia, arguing that "when someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time," and said he is sceptical Russia is sincerely interested in ending the war.
- Sergey Lavrov told the UN Security Council Russia will not pause its "special military operation," accusing Europe of wanting to halt fighting in order to "pump the Kyiv regime with weapons."
- Rubio publicly held out hope for "some limited ceasefire that involves grain and energy," while Zelenskyy said Kyiv remains open to a maritime truce in the Black Sea and is awaiting a Russian response, adding: "We have to start somewhere."
- The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023 over the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, obligating member states to detain him on their soil — but the US is not an ICC member, removing the legal barrier to Putin traveling to Miami.
Why it matters: Hosting Putin at a G20 on US soil in December gives Rubio a direct channel to push the limited grain-and-energy ceasefire he publicly backed, while sidestepping the ICC arrest warrant that has kept Putin from traveling to most Western capitals (the US is not an ICC member). But the timing exposes the gap between Rubio's optimism and Lavrov's same-day UN statement that Russia will not pause fighting — meaning the invitation is as much a diplomatic stage as a negotiating lever.
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