Putin Invited to G20 Summit in Miami by US

The United States has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the December G20 summit in Miami, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said September 23. Washington says the gathering could open a channel for direct engagement, even as officials caution that no Trump Putin meeting has been arranged.

At a Glance

• Rubio confirmed the invitation after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York.
• President Donald Trump and Putin could meet at the summit, but Rubio said no such meeting had been agreed.
• The United States is also asking Russia and Ukraine to consider a limited halt to attacks on energy sites.
• Lavrov said Moscow would not suspend its military campaign during peace negotiations.

Why the US invited Putin to the G20

Rubio confirmed the invitation while speaking to reporters after his September 23 meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. It was the first public confirmation from Washington that Putin had been asked to attend a G20 leaders summit. Russian officials had previously received invitations to ministerial level meetings, according to the reported account.

Rubio said the Miami gathering could give Putin a chance to talk with Trump and other national leaders. He did not present a bilateral meeting as settled. Asked about the possibility, the secretary of state told reporters that the leaders had not agreed to meet face to face.

Trump and Putin have held several phone conversations since Trump returned to office in 2025. Rubio said an in person conversation would be more useful if the two leaders had a clearly defined result in mind. Before Rubio met Lavrov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a Trump Putin summit would need preparation.

Rubio framed the invitation as consistent with Trump’s readiness to meet leaders whose positions differ from Washington’s. He argued that talks limited to people who already agree can produce cordial exchanges without resolving disputes. The secretary of state presented engagement as a way to address disagreements, while warning that the invitation itself should not be read as evidence that a summit or wider deal is close.

Washington’s proposed energy truce

The summit invitation came as US officials were also urging Moscow and Kyiv to consider a narrower measure: stopping attacks on energy infrastructure, with grain related targets also possibly included. Rubio said the idea had been raised in recent American contacts with both governments. He identified US envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner as participants in those discussions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for attacks on energy facilities to end. After meeting Trump in New York on September 22, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to stop such strikes if Russia did the same. An earlier understanding concerning energy targets had fallen apart after attacks restarted, according to the reported account.

Rubio stressed that a limited pause would not amount to a peace agreement or end the war. He said it could reduce some of the harm caused by the fighting and potentially create a starting point for broader negotiations. The administration’s case, as Rubio described it, is that a limited arrangement could matter even without resolving the central conflict.

Lavrov offered a sharply different position later on September 23, speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting. He said Russia would not halt its military operation while negotiations continued, regardless of their format. Lavrov also accused European governments of seeking a pause to restore Ukraine’s depleted military supplies. Those comments underscored the gap between Washington’s proposal for a limited restraint and Moscow’s stated refusal to suspend fighting during talks.

Why the energy targets complicate a deal

Asked why Washington was pressing Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy facilities after years of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power system, Rubio said the targets serve different functions. He described Ukrainian attacks as aimed at refineries and oil and gas facilities, with the purpose of reducing Russian revenue. Russian attacks, he said, hit Ukraine’s electrical grid and affect electricity and other basic services.

That distinction is central to the competing arguments. The targets are not interchangeable in their effects, according to Rubio: one side’s attacks threaten energy production and export income, while the other side’s strikes disrupt the power supply used by civilians and services. Rubio acknowledged that the difference makes an agreement difficult to reach quickly. He nevertheless said trying to secure one was worthwhile.

Both countries have continued attacks on energy infrastructure. Kyiv has increased strikes on Russian oil facilities in recent weeks, while Russia has kept attacking Ukrainian energy sites, according to the reported account. Rubio’s comments did not spell out how a truce would be monitored, how violations would be handled, or whether grain related sites would be covered. No agreement on those details was announced.

Diplomatic contact, with risks beyond Ukraine

Rubio disclosed few specifics from his discussion with Lavrov, and neither official announced a breakthrough. The US State Department said the ministers discussed the war and relations between Washington and Moscow. The meeting took place as the United States seeks to keep diplomatic contacts open and test whether Russia and Ukraine will accept limited steps to reduce the fighting.

The Kremlin has said conditions are not in place for formal peace negotiations, while also saying Putin remains open to contact with Trump. That position sits alongside Lavrov’s statement that Russian forces would continue fighting during any negotiations. Rubio’s account of the invitation likewise left open whether direct talks between the presidents would occur.

Rubio also warned that the conflict could create dangers outside Ukraine. He cited possible sabotage or hybrid attacks, as well as an incident involving military aircraft or a misunderstanding between forces. He said Washington had raised these concerns with European governments. His remarks described potential risks, not a report that any such incident had taken place.

Will the invitation lead to a defined meeting?

The invitation establishes a possible setting for contact, but Rubio’s remarks left the practical questions unresolved: whether Putin will attend, whether Trump and Putin will meet, and whether officials can agree on a limited energy truce. The public statements from Washington and Moscow show sharply different conditions for reducing attacks, with no agreement announced on September 23.