Trump invites Putin to Miami G20: Why that matters

US Secretary of State Rubio said the summit would be an ‘opportunity’ for Putin to engage with other world leaders.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a news conferences following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, US, August 15, 2025 [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that Washington has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to December’s G20 meeting in Miami amid efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Following a meeting with Russian Foreign Secretary Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Rubio said the US remained open to speaking with Moscow about Ukraine.

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“We’ve just invited President Putin to the G20. We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president but with other world leaders. We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept,” Rubio said.

Trump and Putin last met, face to face, in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2025, but failed to reach any agreement over Ukraine. Putin has not visited the contiguous United States since he invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Here’s what we know.

The G20, or Group of 20, is a forum bringing together the world’s major and emerging economies. A summit is held annually – this year in Miami, Florida, in the US.

Those countries or groups of countries are:

While many G20 countries, such as Germany, France, and the UK, are allied with Ukraine, others have closer ties with Russia – including China and India.

If he accepts the invitation, it would be Putin’s first in-person attendance at a G20 summit since 2019.

In 2021, the Russian leader attended the G20 summit virtually and spoke by video feed, but in 2023, when the summit was held in India, Putin sent Lavrov in his place.

What has Russia said?

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said no decision had been taken about Putin’s attendance at the December summit.

When asked what the two leaders might discuss, Peskov told reporters, “It is premature to speak about this right now.”

“No decision has been made yet. We certainly appreciate this kind invitation, we value it, and it will be reviewed and coordinated, after which an appropriate decision will be reached.”

The spokesperson reiterated that Russia is seeking a peace settlement, not a temporary ceasefire.

How are US-Russian relations?

While the US maintains contact with Moscow for dialogue over the war in Ukraine, relations between the countries are strained.

Last week, Trump signed the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 into law, which grants the president sweeping powers to sanction buyers of Russian energy, in a bid to pressure Moscow to end the war.

The legislation, named after the late hawkish Republican lawmaker, also sanctions President Vladimir Putin, senior officials and oligarchs, along with Russian banks and financial institutions.

However, this week, Trump appeared to contradict this approach when he called on Ukraine to agree to an “energy truce” with Russia whereby both sides stop launching strikes on each other’s energy facilities and infrastructure. In comments to reporters at the UN headquarters, Zelenskyy said Kyiv would halt strikes on Russian energy facilities if Moscow stopped targeting Ukraine’s energy systems, as well.

Trump has blamed the Ukraine-Russia war for the current record rise in diesel prices in the United States, which has become a major issue as the country approaches midterm elections in November, adding that Ukraine’s strikes on Russian diesel facilities were “hurting the world”.

But observers said Trump is placing pressure on the wrong actor in the war.

“It is Russia’s – not Ukraine’s – responsibility to end the attacks,” Marnie Howlett, an associate professor of international relations in Eastern Europe and Eurasia at the University of Oxford, told Al Jazeera. “The Russian Federation has repeatedly broken ceasefire agreements, so the war will continue until it agrees to recognise Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty.”

“The ongoing sales of Russian fossil fuels continue to finance Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Amanda Paul, senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC), said.

“Rather than putting the emphasis on the impact of Ukrainian strikes on fuel prices, Trump should be putting greater pressure on Russia to end its attacks and bring the war to an end,” she said. “Trump himself is responsible for stoking high energy prices, due to the repercussions of the US-Israel war on Iran and the subsequent blocking of the Strait of Hormuz .”

Was the G20 invitation for Putin expected this year?

Last month, US media reported that the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Ratcliffe, travelled to Moscow for unannounced talks.

According to CBS News, news of his trip came only after an Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport plane was spotted flying into a Moscow airport.

While the CIA did not comment on his trip, Peskov told reporters in Moscow that Ratcliffe had spoken to Russian intelligence officials, but did not meet Putin. Then, a senior Ukrainian official told CBS that Washington had told Ukraine that a US delegation would be travelling to Moscow and asked Kyiv to pause its attacks until the delegation left.

On Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter, the Reuters news agency reported that Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev would go to the US to meet special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

According to one source, the visit aims to keep Russia-US dialogue and peacekeeping efforts going. Economic cooperation, energy issues and a peace settlement in Ukraine will also be on the agenda.

Will Putin’s visit trigger the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest?

In March 2023, the ICC issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest for the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.

Under the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC, signatories are obliged to carry out the warrant if a person with a warrant for their arrest enters their territory.

However, the US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and will therefore not abide by it. Furthermore, the Trump administration is reported to be preparing sanctions against the ICC, which has also issued a warrant for the arrest of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicion of war crimes in Gaza. The US has previously also placed sanctions on ICC officials .

The new US sanctions would prohibit most transactions with the ICC after a grace period of six to seven months, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. If imposed, the measures would bar US citizens and companies from providing the ICC with money, goods or services without a licence from the US Department of the Treasury. Banks and other companies often take an especially cautious approach to US sanctions because they rely on access to the US financial system.

On Thursday, Trump urged all countries that are members of the ICC to quit and said it was “out of control”.

“The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the International Criminal Court,” he told the United Nations General Assembly. “I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately.”

How have other countries responded to Putin’s invitation to the G20?

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs, criticised the invitation and said she would raise it with other members of the G20.

“We need to discuss this together with colleagues, but it’s clearly, I think, the wrong path to normalise people who are starting wars, who are going against the UN charter, who are killing and giving orders to kill civilians, to ignore the international humanitarian law, to cause as much damage and suffering to people that they can,” she added.

“By normalising this, believe me, we will have more of it around the world.”

On Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a Ukraine ally, said inviting Putin to the Miami summit could encourage Moscow to continue its attacks on Ukraine.

“If inviting Putin to the G20 could bring us closer to a just peace, I would be absolutely in favour of it,” Tusk told a news conference.

“However – and this is both my concern and what my experience tells me – at this stage, Russia might well view it as an encouragement to continue its aggressive policies. That is what I fear.”

美国国务卿卢比奥表示，此次峰会将是普京与其他世界领导人接触的“机会”。

2025年8月15日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京在阿拉斯加州安克雷奇的埃尔门多夫-理查森联合基地举行会晤，商讨结束乌克兰战争后，在新闻发布会上握手。[Jeenah Moon/路透社]

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥宣布，华盛顿已邀请俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京参加12月在迈阿密举行的G20峰会，以期结束俄乌战争。

周三，在纽约联合国大会期间与俄罗斯外交部长谢尔盖·拉夫罗夫会晤后，卢比奥表示，美国仍然愿意与莫斯科就乌克兰问题进行对话。

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“我们刚刚邀请普京总统参加二十国集团峰会。我们认为这对他来说是一个机会，不仅可以与美国总统交流，还可以与其他世界领导人交流。我们希望他能接受邀请，”鲁比奥说。

特朗普和普京上一次面对面会晤是在2025年8月于阿拉斯加州安克雷奇，但未能就乌克兰问题达成任何协议。自2022年入侵乌克兰以来，普京就再也没有访问过美国本土。

以下是我们目前所了解的情况。

二十国集团（G20）是一个汇聚世界主要经济体和新兴经济体的论坛。峰会每年举行一次——今年在美国佛罗里达州迈阿密举行。

这些国家或国家集团包括：

虽然许多二十国集团国家，如德国、法国和英国，与乌克兰结盟，但其他一些国家与俄罗斯的关系更为密切，包括中国和印度。

如果他接受邀请，这将是普京自 2019 年以来首次亲自出席 G20 峰会。

2021年，俄罗斯领导人以视频方式出席了G20峰会并发表了讲话；但2023年，当峰会在印度举行时，普京派拉夫罗夫代替他出席。

俄罗斯方面说了什么？

周四，克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫表示，尚未就普京是否出席12月峰会做出决定。

当被问及两位领导人可能会讨论什么时，佩斯科夫告诉记者：“现在谈论这个问题还为时过早。”

“目前尚未做出任何决定。我们非常感谢这份盛情邀请，我们会认真考虑并协调相关事宜，之后再做出合适的决定。”

发言人重申，俄罗斯寻求的是和平解决方案，而不是暂时停火。

美俄关系如何？

尽管美国与莫斯科保持联系，就乌克兰战争进行对话，但两国关系依然紧张。

上周，特朗普签署了《2026 年林赛·格雷厄姆制裁俄罗斯法案》，该法案赋予总统广泛的权力来制裁俄罗斯能源的买家，以向莫斯科施压，迫使其结束战争。

这项以已故鹰派共和党议员命名的法案，还制裁了俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京、高级官员和寡头，以及俄罗斯的银行和金融机构。

然而，本周特朗普的言论似乎与这一做法相悖，他呼吁乌克兰与俄罗斯达成“能源休战协议”，双方停止对对方能源设施和基础设施的袭击。泽连斯基在联合国总部对记者表示，如果莫斯科也停止袭击乌克兰的能源系统，基辅也将停止对俄罗斯能源设施的袭击。

特朗普将美国柴油价格目前创纪录的上涨归咎于乌克兰-俄罗斯战争，随着美国11月中期选举的临近，柴油价格已成为一个主要问题。他还补充说，乌克兰对俄罗斯柴油设施的袭击“正在伤害世界”。

但观察人士表示，特朗普把压力施加在了战争中错误的角色身上。

牛津大学东欧和欧亚国际关系副教授玛妮·霍利特告诉半岛电视台：“结束袭击是俄罗斯的责任，而不是乌克兰的责任。俄罗斯联邦一再违反停火协议，因此，除非俄罗斯同意承认乌克兰的领土主权，否则战争将继续下去。”

“俄罗斯化石燃料的持续销售继续为俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争提供资金，”欧洲政策中心 (EPC) 高级政策分析师阿曼达·保罗 (Amanda Paul) 表示。

她表示：“与其强调乌克兰空袭对燃油价格的影响，特朗普更应该加大对俄罗斯的压力，迫使其停止袭击并结束战争。特朗普本人也应对高昂的能源价格负责，这是由于美以对伊朗发动战争以及随后封锁霍尔木兹海峡所造成的后果。”

今年普京收到G20邀请是意料之中的事吗？

上个月，美国媒体报道称，美国中央情报局（CIA）局长约翰·拉特克利夫前往莫斯科进行未公开的会谈。

据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻报道，他的行程消息是在一架空军波音 C-17 环球霸王 III 运输机被发现飞往莫斯科机场后才传出的。

尽管中央情报局没有对拉特克利夫的行程发表评论，但佩斯科夫在莫斯科告诉记者，拉特克利夫曾与俄罗斯情报官员交谈，但没有与普京会面。随后，一位乌克兰高级官员告诉哥伦比亚广播公司，华盛顿方面已告知乌克兰，一个美国代表团将前往莫斯科，并要求基辅暂停袭击，直到代表团离开。

周三，路透社援引两位知情人士的消息报道称，俄罗斯总统特使基里尔·德米特里耶夫将前往美国会见特使史蒂夫·威特科夫和特朗普的女婿贾里德·库什纳。

据一位消息人士透露，此次访问旨在维持俄美对话和维和行动。经济合作、能源问题以及乌克兰和平解决方案也将列入议程。

普京的访问是否会触发国际刑事法院（ICC）对其发出逮捕令？

2023 年 3 月，国际刑事法院对普京发出逮捕令，指控他犯有非法将乌克兰儿童驱逐到俄罗斯的战争罪行。

根据建立国际刑事法院的国际条约《罗马规约》，如果持有逮捕令的人进入缔约国的领土，缔约国有义务执行逮捕令。

然而，美国并非《罗马规约》的缔约国，因此不会遵守该规约。此外，据报道，特朗普政府正准备对国际刑事法院实施制裁，而国际刑事法院此前已对以色列总理内塔尼亚胡发出逮捕令，指控其在加沙犯有战争罪。美国此前也曾对国际刑事法院官员实施制裁。

据《华尔街日报》周日报道，美国新的制裁措施将在六到七个月的宽限期后，禁止与国际刑事法院进行大部分交易。如果这些措施生效，美国公民和公司未经美国财政部许可，将不得向国际刑事法院提供资金、货物或服务。由于银行和其他公司依赖于美国金融体系，因此它们通常对美国的制裁措施格外谨慎。

周四，特朗普敦促所有国际刑事法院成员国退出该法院，并称该法院“已经失控”。

“美国同样反对国际刑事法院这个失控的机构，”他在联合国大会上说。“我呼吁所有国际刑事法院成员国立即正式退出这个流氓机构。”

其他国家对普京邀请其参加G20峰会的提议作何反应？

欧盟外交与安全政策高级代表卡娅·卡拉斯批评了这一邀请，并表示她将向二十国集团其他成员提出此事。

“我们需要和同事们一起讨论这个问题，但显然，我认为，将那些发动战争、违反联合国宪章、杀害平民并下令杀害平民、无视国际人道主义法、尽可能地给人们造成伤害和痛苦的人正常化，是错误的做法，”她补充道。

“相信我，如果这种现象正常化，世界各地就会出现更多这样的情况。”

周四，乌克兰盟友波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克表示，邀请普京参加迈阿密峰会可能会鼓励莫斯科继续对乌克兰发动袭击。

图斯克在新闻发布会上表示：“如果邀请普京参加二十国集团峰会能够使我们更接近公正的和平，我绝对赞成。”

“然而——这既是我的担忧，也是我的经验告诉我的——在现阶段，俄罗斯很可能会将其视为继续推行侵略政策的鼓励。这正是我所担心的。”