Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in his Sept. 23 press conference at the United Nations that the Trump administration has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit, which the U.S. will host this December in Florida. “We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the President but with other world leaders,” Rubio said. That remark struck observers as strange, given that within the past month Putin has attended summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek and BRICS in New Delhi, interacting with leaders of well over half the world’s population; moreover, both Putin and Trump are expected at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum Nov. 18-19 in China, to be hosted by President Xi Jinping, weeks before the G20 meeting.
Rubio had been asked if the U.S. has a desire for another Putin-Trump summit. That, Rubio said, has not been discussed. He reported the G20 invitation, but did add that if there is another opportunity for the two to meet, “and there’s a purpose behind the meeting, that would be good,” cautioning that a summit would require “a lot of work … beforehand.”
The Russian government has not accepted the invitation, as of this writing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today said that the invitation was “appreciated,” but that it was “premature” to discuss Putin’s attendance, insofar as “no decision has been made.”
That has not stopped Ukrainian acting president Volodymyr Zelensky and his British controllers from engaging in extensive spinning and wishful fantasizing about a trilateral Trump-Putin-Zelensky meeting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in his daily media briefing on Sept. 23, once again threw a bucket of very cold water on the idea. “The militarization of Ukraine indeed continues. European states are trying to raise more and more money for purchasing weapons. The Kiev regime continues its rather terrorist activity. So far, there are no preconditions for moving onto a peaceful negotiations track, although we, the Russian side, remain open for peace talks. So far, there is nothing specific about any meetings at the summit level, if we’re talking about a Russian-American meeting. The presidents are ready for that; Presidents Putin and Trump do emphasize, during their telephone conversations, their readiness, if necessary, to hold another meeting. As for any meeting between Putin and Zelensky, our position is well known. Putin has said that Zelensky, if he wants to, may come to Moscow. All necessary guarantees for his security will be provided. And he knows perfectly well what decisions need to be taken. In any other case, holding a summit before the work has been done at the expert level is inappropriate because it would be a waste of time.”
