NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (Reuters) – The United States has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to a G20 meeting in December in Miami, Florida, where he could hold a summit with President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.
The Kremlin said that Moscow would consider the invitation.
Rubio, speaking after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly, said the United States remains open to dialogue with Russia about the war in Ukraine, despite stalled efforts to end the conflict.
“We invited President Putin to the G20. We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not only with the president, but also with other world leaders. We hope he accepts the invitation,” Rubio said.
Putin and Trump met in Anchorage, Alaska, in August of last year, but Putin has not visited the 48 contiguous states since before Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, saying Moscow was “grateful and appreciative for this invitation.”
“We will take a decision and handle this through diplomatic channels,” he added.
Rubio also said that Trump could meet again with Chinese President Xi Jinping — who arrived in Washington for a state visit — at the G20 summit, as well as at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Shenzhen.
